DUKE 
UNIVERSITY 


DIVINITY  SCHOOL 

LIBRARY 

C-ift   of 
Mrs.   Holland  Holt on 


CI 


*.-.  „  Mm 


Rev.  F.  L.  REID,  D.  D. 


i 


"^J 


^V  ^£UV 


LIFE, 
Sermons  and  Speeches 

OP 

REV.  NUMA  F.  REID,  D.  D., 


LATE     OF     THE 


NORTH  CAROLINA  CONFERENCE 


BY    HIS    SONS, 


Jas.  W.  Reid  and  Frank  L.  Reid. 


NEW    YORK: 

E.    J.    HALE    &    SON,    PUBLISHERS, 
Murray  Street. 

1874. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1874,  by 

Jas.  W.  Reid  and  Frank  L.  Reid, 

in     the    office    of  the   Librarian    of    Congress    at    Washington. 
All    rights    reserved. 


Jiv.  S, 

T.:- 


TO    TEE  MEMBERS 

OF   THE 

North  Carolina  Conference 

OP  THE 

METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH    SOUTH, 

To    which    honored    body    our  ancestors    have    held   connec- 
tion,   without   intermission,   for  the    past   sixty   years, 

By   the   Editors. 


58402'? 


PREFACE 


Yarious  reasons  induce  men  to  publish  books.     Solicited  by 
friends,  who,  in  connection  with  the  immediate  family  of 
our  Father,  were  desirous  of  preserving  his  Sermons  and 
writings  in  permanent  form,  and  thereby  perpetuate  the  good 
results  of  his  Ministry,  the  Editors  have  given  this  volume  to 
the  public. 

The  Biography  published  herein  was  prepared  by  Rev. 
Jno.  W.  Lewis,  of  the  North  Carolina  Conference,  whose 
ability,  and  long  intimate  friendship  and  association  with 
Dr.   Reid,  eminently  qualified  him  for  this  duty. 

With  two  exceptions,  the  Sermons  and  Speeches  incorporated 
in  this  book  were  not  prepared  by  their  author  with  a  view  to 
publication,  and  as  the  editors  have  very  accurately  followed  the 
original  incomplete  drafts,  the  discourses  may  lack  that  rhetor- 
ical and  philological  finish  which  would  have  characterized 
them  had.  Dr.  Reid  designed  them  for  the  press. 

The  net  proceeds  realized  from  the  sale  of  this  work  will  be 
applied  to  the  education  of  Dr.  Reid's  younger  children. 

The  Editors. 

Wentworth,  K  C.  Sept  21.  1874. 


584087 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

Preface 7 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Rev.  N.  F.  Reid,  D.  D 9 

The  Pastorate 109 

The  M.  E.  Church   South 135 

Fear  God  rather  than   Man 150 

A  Nation's   True  Source  of  Happiness 165 

Purity  of   Heart 176 

The  Resurrection 193 

The  Lord's  Supper 205 

The  Spiritual  Warfare 218 

Following  the  Multitude 231 

Baptism — Sermon  1 240 

Baptism — Sermon  II 269 

The  Drawing  of  Christ 286 

Giving  the  Heart  to  God 295 

Almost  a  Christian   318 

The  Mystery  of  Spiritual  Things 325 

Glorying  in  the  Cross 339 

The  Triumph  and  Reward  of  the  Christian 356 

The  Falling  of  the  Walls  of  Jericho 369 

Thanksgiving  Day 382 

Living  to  God 390 

The  Reward  of  Well  Doing 400 

Those  that  are  Christ's  have  His  Spirit 410 

All  Things  Work  Together  for  Good 419 

The  Anointing  of  the  Saviour 429 

A  Season  to   Everything 446 

Sowing  and  Reaping 455 

The  World  Passeth  Away 467 

Missionary  Address 475 

Sabbath  School  Address 490 

Masonic   Oration 502 

Appendix — Sketch  by  Rev.  Dr.  Deems , 531 


Biographical  Sketch 

OF 

Hey.  f  MA  FLETCHER  p,  D.  D., 

WHO    WAS 

TWENTY-SIX    YEARS   A    METHODIST    PREACHER, 

AND 

TWENTY-TWO    YEARS   A    MEMBER    OF  THE   N.    C.    CONFERENCE. 
By  Rev.  J^O.  W.  LEWIS, 

OF  THE  N.  C.  CONFERENCE. 


In  a  country  where  there  are  no  hereditary 
castes  in  society ;  where  nature,  culture,  and 
grace  issue  the  only  patents  of  nobility,  the 
subject  of  pedigree  can  never  become  one  of  para- 
mount importance.  Nevertheless,  when  an  indi- 
vidual rises  to  any  considerable  degree  of  distinc- 
tion amongst  us,  we  find  ourselves  inquiring, 
What  was  his  origin  ?  Who  were  his  progenitors, 
and  to  what  family  does  he  belong  I  Nor  is  the 
inquiry,  in  a  moral  point  of  view,  destitute  of 
reason.  Upon  these  things  depend,  in  a  great 
degree,  the  first  elements  of  character  and  true 
excellence.  Human  virtue  is  not  necessarily  he- 
reditary ;  yet  we  naturally  look  for  some  corre- 
sponding traits  of  character  between  the  father 


10  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

and  the  son.  We  usually  expect  a  fair  scion  from 
an  excellent  stock.  In  no  other  point  of  view  is 
the  question  of  genealogy  of  any  weight,  for  no 
earthly  distinctions  can  ennoble  the  morally  vile 
and  dissolute. 

The  above  remarks  apply  to  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  His  ancestors  occupied  a  respectable 
position  in  the  middle  walks  of  life,  and  were 
remarkable  only  for  virtue,  honesty,  and  their  de- 
votion to  religion.  And  yet  his  talents,  his  vir- 
tues, his  energy,  and,  above  all,  his  deep  and  fer- 
vent piety,  harmonized  all  his  faculties,  and  raised 
him  to  an  eminence,  and  secured  to  him  an  influ- 
ence, which  very  few  persons  possess.  We  trust 
that  his  example  may  emulate  many  to  aspire  to 
similar  excellence.  When  we  view  the  interest 
of  life  in  its  moral  and  intellectual  aspects,  parent- 
age and  early  education  are  worthy  of  our  atten- 
tion. The  child  is  the  man  in  miniature,  both  mor- 
ally and  intellectually,  as  well  as  pl^sically ;  and 
whatever  helps  to  direct  the  mind  or  energies  of 
the  child  will  be  potent  in  forming  the  character 
of  the  coming  man,  either  for  good  or  evil,  for 
happiness  or  misery. 

Numa  Fletcher  Reid  was  born  in  Rockingham 
County,  North  Carolina,  on  the  3d  day  of  July, 
in  the  year  1825.  He  was  the  second  son  of  the 
Rev.  James  Reid,  of  the  North  Carolina  Confer- 
ence, and  Martha  Reid,  daughter  of  Rev.  George 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  11 

R.  Edwards.  His  grand-parents,  both  paternal 
and  maternal,  were  pious  and  devoted  members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  His  grand- 
father, Bluford  Reid,  and  wife,  resided  near  the 
Red  House  in  Caswell  County,  N.  0.,  and  were 
among  the  first  members  of  the  Methodist  Church 
in  that  section.  They  both  lived  to  advanced  age, 
and  continued  to  adorn  their  Christian  profession 
as  long  as  they  lived.  Bluford  Reid  attained  the 
age  of  ninety-seven  years,  and  died  a  few  years 
ago  at  the  residence  of  his  youngest  son,  Bluford 
W.  Reid,  near  Hillsdale,  in  Guilford  County,  1ST. 
C.  He  died  in  full  hope  of  a  glorious  immortality  ; 
his  virtuous  life  and  sincere  piety  are  worthy  the 
imitation  of  his  descendants.  His  grand-father 
Edwards,  and  wife,  Catharine  Simmons,  were 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in 
Mecklenburg  County,  Va.,  in.  the  early  days  of 
Methodism.  They  removed  to  Rockingham 
County,  N".  C,  about  sixty-five  years  ago,  and 
settled  a  few  miles  south  of  Dan  River,  near 
Mount  Carmel  Church,  where  their  bones  rest 
quietly  in  the  old  family  graveyard,  with  many  of 
those  of  their  descendants.  Rev.  George  R.  Ed- 
wards, with  Rev.  Ira  Ellis,  Sterling  Ruffin,  father 
of  the  late  Chief  Justice  Ruffin,  of  North  Carolina, 
John  Morehead,  father  of  the  late  Governor  More- 
head,  Hon.  James  T.  Morehead,  and  Porter  Guer- 
rant,   succeeded   in   building   up   Mount   Carmel 


12  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

Church,  which  has  connected  with  its  history 
many  reminiscences  of  early  Methodism. 

This  old  church  Was  the  place  of  holding  camp 
meetings  in  other  times,  and  many  scores  and 
hundreds  of  souls  have  been  converted  there. 
It  was  at  this  sacred  place  that  Rev.  Gr.  R.  Ed- 
wards and  his  Wife  held  their  membership  until 
called  by  the  Master  from  the  Church  militant  to 
the  Church  triumphant.  N.  F.  Reid  descended 
from  pious  stock  ;  his  parents  and  grand-parents 
were  all  devoted  members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church.  Is  it,  therefore,  any  wonder  that 
he  should  have  become  a  Methodist  preacher  ? 

Rev.  James  Reid,  the  father  of  N.  F.  Reid,  was 
the  eldest  son  of  Bluford  Reicl.  He  was  born  in 
Caswell  County,  N.  C,  April  5th,  1795,  where  he 
received  his  early  training.  His  educational  op- 
portunities were  quite  limited,  as  was  the  case 
generally,  in  the  time  of  his  youth,  with  those  who 
were  raised  in  the  middle  walks  of  life. 

The  course  of  education  in  the  neighborhood 
schools  consisted  in  spelling,  reading,  writing  and 
arithmetic,  to  a  very  limited  extent ;  the  children 
in  the  rural  districts  attended  these  schools  three 
or  four  months  in  the  year,  and  the  balance  of  the 
year  they  were  usually  employed  in  domestic  la- 
bor. James  Reid  spent  his  time,  when  not  in 
school,  laboring  on  the  farm  or  in  the  shop,  with 
his    father,    working   at   the    wheelwright   trade. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  13 

His  pious  parents  watched  over  his  morals,  and 
taught  him  to  ' '  remember  his  Creator  in  the  days 
of  his  vouth,"  and  his  heart  was  early  awakened 
to  a  sense  of  his  lost  condition,  and  he  felt  him- 
self a  sinner,  and  the  necessity  of  regenerating 
grace.  He  sought  the  Lord  with  full  purpose  of 
heart,  and  soon  realized  His  power  to  saye. 

He  was  then  prepared  to  say,  "  0  !  Lord,  I  will 
praise  thee,  for  although  thou  wast  angry  with  me, 
thine  anger  is  turned  away,  and  thou  comfortest 
me."  He  early  connected  himself  with  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church,  and  ayailed  himself  of  all 
its  privileges  ;  the  one  which  he  most  esteemed, 
was  class  meeting.  He  was  accustomed  to  attend 
the  ministry  of  some  of  the  soul-stirring  pioneers 
of  Methodism,  and  no  doubt  that  it  was  through 
their  instrumentality  he  caught  the  sacred  flame 
of  heavenly  zeal  which  rendered  his  early  minis- 
try so  effective.  He  soon  commenced  exercisiu°; 
his  gifts  in  public  prayer  and  exhortation.  In 
the  early  days  of  Methodism  the  male  members 
of  the  Church  generally  prayed  in  public,  and  not 
unfrequently  females  exercised  their  gifts  in  pub- 
lic prayer.  In  those  times  the  Methodist  Church 
had  a  much  larger  proportion  of  active,  working 
members  than  at  the  present  day.  The  Church 
now  needs  a  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  stir 
up  the  souls  of  its  members  to  become  workers 
for  the  Lord.     May  God  send  it ! 


14  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

Young  Eeid's  soul  was  soon  impressed  to  warn 
his  fellow-men  to  flee  the  wrath  to  come.  Many 
of  the  early  Methodist  preachers  were  called  from 
the  plow  handles,  from  the  workshops,  or  from  the 
counting-rooms,  to  the  Ministry  ;  and  so  impres- 
sive was  the  call  that  they  found  no  rest  until  they 
went  forth,  trusting  in  the  great  Head  of  the  Church, 
in  the  discharge  of  their  obligations  to  God  ;  and 
uneducated  as  most  of  these  men  were,  they 
trusted  in  God,  and  used  the  means  of  grace,  and 
availed  themselves  of  every  opportunity  to  gain 
knowledge  ;  and  the  Lord  honored  their  ministry 
with  the  conversion  of  souls,  and  many  of  them 
soon  became  able  ministers  of  the  Xew  Testament. 
James  Reid  was  licensed  to  preach,  and  joined 
the  travelling  connection  in  the  Virginia  Confer- 
ence, in  the  year  1815.  He  went  forth  with  a 
burning  zeal  for  the  Cause  of  God  ;  he  felt  the 
worth  of  souls  at  heart ;  and  the  Lord  put  the 
seal  of  approbation  on  his  ministry  by  the  con- 
version of  sinners.  It  was  in  the  year  1819, 
nearly  as  far  back  as  memory  runneth,  that  the 
writer  of  this  sketch  first  saw  him  ;  he  was  then 
in  charge  of  Salisbury  Circuit,  with  a  young 
preacher  by  the  name  of  Robertson  for  his  helper  ; 
then  in  the  vigor  of  youth,  full  of  zeal  for  the 
cause  of  God,  he  went  forth  stirring  up  the 
churches ;  the  word  of  God  run  and  was  glorified 
in  the  conversion   of  sinners  ;  the  Lord  gave  him 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  15 

many  seals  to  his  ministry  that  year.  He  con- 
tinued to  itinerate,  receiving  his  appointments 
from  the  seaboard  to  the  Blue  Ridge.  In  the 
year  1821-2,  he  travelled  Guilford  Circuit,  and 
while  on  this  Circuit,  which  embraced  Guilford 
and  Rockingham  Counties,  he  was  married  to 
Martha  Edwards,  third  daughter  of  Rev.  Geo.  R. 
Edwards,  of  Rockingham  County,  X.  C.  At  the  time 
of  his  marriage  it  was  the  custom  for  the  itiner- 
ant  ministers  to  locate  at  the  ensuing  conference 
after  their  marriage,  and  to  abandon  the  itineracy. 
This  custom  grew  out  of  the  force  of  circum- 
stances, one  of  which  was  the  want  of  provision 
for  the  support  of  the  preacher's  family,  and 
another  was,  that  many  of  the  old  preachers,  such 
as  Bishop  Asbury,  Philip  Bruce,  Jesse  Lee,  and 
many  other  leading  members  of  the  Conference, 
were  unmarried  men  ;  and  a  prejudice  grew  up  in 
the  Church  against  married  preachers.  But  such 
was  the  zeal  and  moral  courage  of  James  Reid, 
that  having  once  put  his  hand  to  the  plow,  he  de- 
termined not  to  look  back,  but  continued  to  itin- 
erate notwithstanding  the  prejudice  and  opposi- 
tion to  married  preachers,  when  there  did  not  ex- 
ceed in  number  a  half  dozen  married  preachers  in 
the  Virginia  Conference.  He  continued  to  take 
his  appointments  from  one  annual  Conference  to 
the  next;  and  no  doubt  by  the  force  of  his  character 
and  example,  did  much  to  break  down  the  opposi- 


16  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

tion  to  married  preachers  in  the  Conference.  He 
continued  effective  in  the  itinerant  work  for  fifty- 
eight  years,  and  never  failed  to  answer  to  the  call 
of  his  name  for  fifty-eight  annual  meetings.  He 
filled  his  appointments  with  great  acceptability  as 
circuit  preacher  and  pastor.  Through  his  instru- 
mentality many  hundreds  of  souls  were  brought 
to  Christ,  and  saved  by  grace.  Perhaps  the 
most  successful  years  of  his  ministry  were  spent 
on  Pittsboro7,  Koanoke  and  Tar  Elver  Circuits. 
Rev.  James  Reid  was  married  the  second  time 
about  the  year  1857.  He  married  Mrs.  Nancy 
Kelly,  of  Franklin  County,  N.  C.  She  was  left 
a  widow,  and  still  lives  in  solitude  at  her  former 
residence  at  Midway,  waiting  for  her  change  to 
come  ;  may  she  be  comforted  by  Him  who  pro- 
mises to  be  a  husband  to  the  widow.  He  was 
elected  in  the  year  1872  to  the  office  of  Superin- 
tendent of  Public  Instruction  in  North  Carolina. 
This  office  had  generally  been  filled  by  a  minister 
of  the  Gospel  in  this  State,  and  also  in  other 
States.  He  was  conscientious  in  taking  this  ap- 
pointment ;  he  did  not  regard  it  as  political,  but 
simply  as  a  ministerial  office  ;  he  had  fully  con- 
sidered the  matter,  and  regarded  the  duties  of  the 
office  as  adapted  to  his  feelings.  Having  for 
several  years  filled  the  appointment  of  Agent  for 
Sabbath  Schools  in  his  Conference,  and  having 
done  this  without  an}^  pecuniary  compensation,  he 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  17 

now  needed  a  situation  that  would  afford  him  a 
support,  and  as  this  office  was  not  incompatible 
with  his  calling  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  he 
consented  to  have  his  name  put  in  nomination  for 
it ;  he  was  favorably  known  throughout  the  State. 
He  did  not  canvass  the  State  by  visiting  the  dif- 
ferent counties,  he  made  no  speeches,  but  simply 
permitted  his  name  to  be  put  in  nomination  ;  he 
was  elected,  but  died  before  the  time  to  enter  upon 
the  duties  of  the  office. 

He  travelled  extensively  during  the  long  career 
of  his  itinerant  life  ;  and  filled  different  appoint- 
ments, such  as  Circuit  Preacher,  Presiding  Elder, 
College  Agent,  Missionary  to  the  colored  people, 
and  Sabbath  School  Agent.  He  continued  in  ac- 
tive service  until  the  last  day  of  his  life.  He  at 
once  ceased  to  work  and  to  live.  He  raised  a 
family  of  nine  children,  and  survived  them  all, 
except  two — X.  F.  Eeid,  and  Charles  A.  Eeid, 
his  youngest  child,  who  is  now  the  only  surviving 
member  of  the  family,  and  resides  in  Savannah, 
Georgia,  His  excellent  wife,  the  mother  of  his 
children,  passed  away  to  her  heavenly  home  a 
score  of  years  before  him.  His  wife,  his  three 
daughters  and  five  sons  all  died  of  lung  disease  ; 
but  it  is  a  consoling  thought  that  they  all  died  in 
peace  ;  and  with  only  one  exception,  that  of  his 
surviving  son,  compose  an  undivided  family  in  our 
Father's  house  above.     Brother  James  Eeid  died 


18  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

in  Greensboro',  at  the  house  of  Rev.  N.  H.  D.  Wil- 
son, D.  D.,  where  he  received  the  kindest  atten- 
tions of  an  interesting  family.  He  died  suddenly 
in  the  month  of  October,  1872.  No  one  saw  him 
die  ;  he  had  retired  about  4  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon to  repose  awhile  in  view  of  taking  the  cars 
in  the  night  for  his  home  ;  in  a  short  while  after 
he  retired  a  servant  went  into  his  room  and  found 
him  dead.  He  seemed  to  have  expired  without  a 
struggle  or  a  groan  ;  just  fell  asleep  in  Jesus.  His 
funeral  services  were  conducted  in  Greensboro'  by 
Rev.  J.  A.  Cunninggim  and  Rev.  Wm.  Barringer  ; 
and  also  on  the  next  day  in  Louisburg,  N.  C,  by 
Rev.  0.  J.  Brent.  He  was  interred  by  the  side  of 
his  sainted  wife  and  two  sons,  in  the  presence  of  a 
large  concourse  of  people.  At  the  ensuing  An- 
nual Conference,  held  in  Fayetteville,  N.  C,  there 
was  a  memorial  service  held  for  him,  and  a  funeral 
sermon  delivered  by  Rev.  Wm.  Closs,  D.  I). 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Wilson,  by  request  of  friends, 
had  prepared  a  memorial  sermon,  but  was  taken 
very  ill  on  the  night  previous  to  the  Memorial 
Service,  and  was  not  able  to  perform  the  duty. 
Thus  passed  away  the  senior  member  of  the  N.  C. 
Conference.  The  following  Memoir  was  read  and 
adopted  by  the  Conference  : 

MEMOIR    OF   REV.    JAMES    REID. 

A  father  in  Israel  hath  fallen.     He  who  had  for 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  19 

many  years  headed  the  roll  of  our  Conference, 
has  gone  to  the  Conference  of  the  Redeemed  ;  he- 
was  worthy  to  lead,  and  he  died  as  becometh  a 
leader.  James  Reid  was  born  in  Caswell  County, 
N.  C,  April  the  5th,  1795  ;  he  received  a  plain 
English  education,  such  as  was  usual  at  that  time 
in  that  section  of  the  country.  His  parents  were 
pious,  and  the  home  influence  favorable  to  the  de- 
velopment of  manhoods  best  form.  In  early  life 
he  embraced  religion,  and  joined  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  The  call  to  preach  was  during 
his  boyhood,  and  in  early  youth  he  commenced 
the  work.  He  joined  the  Virginia  Conference  in 
1815,  and  was  appointed  to  Bertie  Circuit.  His 
work  was  then  as  follows  :  1816,  Roanoke  ;  1817, 
Suffolk  and  Princess  Anne  ;  1818,  Washington  and 
Swift  Creek  ;  1819,  Salisbury ;  1820,  Mecklen- 
burg ;  1821-2,  Guilford  ;  1823-4,  Franklin  ;  1825, 
Iredell ;  1826,  Bedford  ;  1827,  Buckingham  ; 
1828,  Amherst;  1829,  Franklin;  1830-1,  Haw 
River  ;  1832,  Tar  River  ;  1833-6,  Presiding  El- 
der of  Newbera  District  ;  1837-40,  Salisbury 
District ;  1841-3,  Agent  for  G-reensboro'  Female 
College  ;  1844-7,  Presiding  Elder  on  Washington 
District;  1848-9,  Caswell  Circuit;  1850,  Person 
Circuit ;  1851,  Wilmington  District ;  1852-3,  Pre- 
siding Elder  on  Raleigh  District  ;  1854-8,  Raleigh 
African  Mission  ;  1859-60,  Tar  River  ;  1861-2, 
Nashville  ;  1863-4,  Henderson  ;  1865,  Warren  ; 
1866,    Presiding    Elder    on    Newbern   District ; 


20  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

1867-72,  Agent  for  Sunday  Schools.  It  will  be 
seen  that  he  gave  nearly  58  years  to  the  active 
work  of  the  ministry,  not  the  pleasant  work  of 
stations,  but  mostly  to  Circuits  and  Districts,  very 
large  and  laborious.  In  April,  1822,  he  was  hap- 
pily married  to  Martha  Edwards  of  Rockingham 
County,  an  amiable  young  lady,  and  a  devoted 
Christian,  well  adapted,  by  character,  education, 
and  disposition,  to  be  the  wife  of  a  self-sacrificing 
Methodist  preacher.  At  that  time  there  were  few 
married  travelling  preachers  in  the  Yirginia  Con- 
ference. In  those  days  married  preachers  were 
not  popular,  and  nearly  all  who  married  located  ; 
but  James  Reid  and  his  family  lived  on  such  pay 
as  was  given  him,  and  endured  all  manner  of 
hardships,  and  still  the  man  of  God  never  fal- 
tered. He  was  an  able  Minister  of  the  Gospel, 
preached  in  the  "  power  and  demonstration  of  the 
Spirit,"  and  was  wise  in  winning  souls  to  Christ 
with  wisdom  from  above. 

While  enduring  the  toils  and  privations  of  the 
ministry,  he  also  shared  its  honors.  In  1832  he 
was  elected,  and  served  as  a  delegate  in  the 
General  Conference  which  met  that  year  in  Phil- 
adelphia, and  in  matters  of  Church  polity  and 
direction  he  ranked  with  such  men  as  James  Pat- 
terson, H.  G.  Leigh,  Brock,  and  Doub. 

Brother  Reid  was  twice  married  ;  his  first  wife 
and  seven  of  his  children  passed  away  to  the 
Spirit  land  before  him  ;  his  second  wife  was  Mrs. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  21 

Kelly,  who  still  survives  him.  He  was  a  warm- 
hearted, .able  supporter  of  all  the  great  enterprises 
of  the  Church.  With  his  small  salary  he  managed 
to  give  his  children  a  good  education,  and  he  did 
much  to  promote  the  cause  of  education  in  our 
Church  and  the  State  generally ;  he  was  not 
only  an  active,  faithful  trustee  of  our  colleges, 
but  supported  them  in  every  way  with  eminent 
ability.  He  was  one  of  those  clear-thinking, 
prudent  working  men  who  make  their  mark 
upon  the  times.  He  was  one  of  the  fathers  in 
the  North  Carolina  Conference,  preeminently  a 
man  of  ability  and  weight  among  citizens,  and  a 
man  of  God  in  the  Church.  By  him  was  much 
contributed  to  make  us  what  we  are.  In  the 
summer  of  1872  he  was  elected  Superintendent 
of  Public  Instruction  for  the  State  of  North  Car- 
olina, but  died  before  the  time  of  entering  upon 
the  duties  of  his  office.  Brother  Reid  died  sud- 
denly at  the  residence  of  Rev.  N.  H.  D.  Wilson, 
in  Greensboro',  N.  C,  Nov.  8th,  1872.  For  some 
time  his  health  had  been  declining,  but  he  had 
often  said  he  was  ready,  that  he  had  been  long  in 
the  vineyard  below,  and  was  waiting  to  be  carried 
to  his  Father's  house.  He  leaves  a  bereaved 
widow,  two  sons,  several  grand-children  and  other 
relations,  and  the  members  of  the  Conference,  to 
mourn  his  loss. 

Wm.  Closs,  )  r 

N.  H.  D.  Wilson,  (  Lom' 


22  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

We  have  already  stated  that  Numa  F.  Reid 
was  the  second  son  of  the  Rev.  James  Reid  of 
the  North  Carolina  Conference. 

His  eldest  brother  was  G-eorge  Wesley  Reid,  a 
young  man  of  highly  cultivated  mind  and  affable 
manners  ;  he  was  a  Christian  gentleman,  a  fine 
looking  person,  and  an  eloquent  speaker.  It  was 
seldom,  if  ever,  our  privilege  to  listen  to  a  finer 
declaimer  than  Wesley  Reid.  After  he  left 
Emory  and  Henry  College,  where  he  was  a 
student  three  years  under  the  tutorage  of  Rev. 
Dr.  Collins,  Rev.  Dr.  Wiley  and  Professor  Long- 
ley,  he  devoted  his  remaining  years  to  teaching  ; 
had  he  lived  he  would  likely  have  entered  the 
ministry.  His  career  was  brief.  After  spending 
a  scholastic  year  teaching  on  Mattamuskeet,  Hyde 
County,  N.  C,  a  pulmonary  disease  began  to  de- 
velop itself  in  his  system.  He  had  returned  to 
his  school  in  the  latter  part  of  the  summer  and 
spent  a  few  months  in  teaching,  when  he  felt  it 
necessary  to  repair  to  the  up  country  in  order  to 
recruit  his  health  ;  after  reaching  his  friends  his 
health  continued  to  decline  until  cold  weather, 
when  he  was  compelled  to  take  his  room,  and  in  a 
short  time  died  in  great  peace. 

Numa  Fletcher  Reid  was  remarkable  in  child- 
hood for  his  unyielding  integrity  ;  when  but  two 
or  three  years  old  he  gave  unmistakeable  evidence 
of  a  strong  character  ;  his  will- was  so  determined 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  23 

and  his  temper  so  inflexible  that  pis  mother  often 
corrected  him  until  her  affections  would  gush  forth 
into  tears  of  sympathy  ;  his  will  was  so  strong  that 
even  when  a  child  he  would  never  yield  until 
driven  from  the  last  defence.  While  he  possessed 
a  strong  will  he  was  also  remarkable  for  his  genial 
affection  and  his  attachment  to  home,  and  espe- 
cially to  his  mother  ;  these  qualities  continued  to 
increase  during  his  life  ;  he  regarded  his  mother 
as  the  best  woman  in  the  world,  and  always  spoke 
of  her  as  the  best  of  mothers.  And  ever  after  she 
was  dead  and  had  gone  to  her  home  in  heaven, 
his  thoughts  and  affections  lingered  around  her 
memory.  He  regarded  the  words,  "Mother, 
Home,  and  Heaven,"  the  sweetest  and  most 
lovely  words  in  our  language.  Nearly  the  last 
word  he  uttered  on  earth  was  "  mother."  In  life's 
last  struggle  he  turned  his  eyes  upon  his  son,  and 
said  :  "  Frank,  I  will  see  your  mother  and  my 
mother."  During  his  childhood,  like  most  boys, 
he  was  fond  o"  toys  and  other  childish  amuse- 
ments, and  was  inclined  to  be  mischievous,  but 
was  never  wicked.  His  pious  parents  taught  him 
the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  the  first  principles  of 
religion  as  set  forth  in  the  Church  Catechism. 
With  the  advantage  of  such  religious  training  his 
mind  soon  began  to  develop  itself. 

He  was  sent  to  school  at  the  early  age  of  six 
or  seven  vears.     His  first  teacher  in  the  district 


24  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

or  neighborhood  school  was  Augustus  Fears,  a 
pious  local  preacher  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  He  afterwards  had  for  his  teacher  Wil- 
liam Smith,  who,  by  his  great  severity,  excited 
his  fears  so  much  as  to  give  him  a  great  distaste 
for  school,  and  at  one  time  he  managed  to  hurt  his 
toe  on  purpose  to  stay  away  from  school.  It  was 
the  practice  of  Mr.  Smith  to  have  all  the  children 
who  could  spell,  form  once  each  day  into  a  general 
class,  to  learn  the  spelling  lesson  commonly  called 
the  "heart"  lesson.  They  were  all  seated  togeth- 
er, and  required  to  spell  in  concert  with  an  aud- 
ible voice,  while  he,  as  an  overseer,  would  walk 
the  floor  with  birch  in  hand.  It  was  on  one  of 
these  occasions  that  little  Numa  and  another  chap 
concluded  to  have  some  innocent  amusement,  by 
contributing  the  sound  of  their  voices  to  swell  the 
tumult,  without  using  any  specific  words.  This 
went  on  to  their  satisfaction  and  delight,  until  his 
pedagogueship,  passing  round,  perceived  that  they 
were  only  carrying  the  tune,  without  the  words ; 
and  the  first  intimation  they  had  of  being  detected 
in  their  fun  was  the  force  of  the  master's  birch 
across  their  shoulders.  "  This,"  said  Dr.Eeid  to 
a  friend  two  years  ago,  "made  an  impression  upon 
my  mind  that  I  could  never  forget."  It  is  prob- 
able that  most  men  have  had  similar  experiences 
in  their  schoolboy  days. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  spent  a  considerable 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  25 

portion  of  his  boyhood  clays  in  the  neighborhood 
schools,  and  made  very  great  proficiency  in  the 
rudiments  of  an  English  education.  He,  with  his 
eldest  brother,  Wesley  Reid,  and  his  uncle,  Ben- 
jamin S.  Edwards,  were  sent  to  school,  in  view  of 
securing  a  preparation  for  college.  During  the 
period  of  time  in  which  he  was  receiving  his  pri- 
mary training,  his  biographer  knew  but  little  of  his 
history,  except  that  he  was  possessed  of  a  frail 
and  delicate  constitution.  He  grew  up  with  a 
slender  and  fragile  body,  and  was  never  able  to 
endure  great  hardships.  He  always  required  the 
delicate  attention  of  a  little  child ;  and  but  for  the 
vigilant  care  and  attention  his  parents  paid  to  his 
health,  he  never  could  have  attained  to  the  age  of 
manhood.  The  great  care  taken  of  delicate  chil- 
dren accounts  for  the  fact  that  so  many  of  them 
are  raised  to  mature  age,  while  so  many  healthy 
and  robust  children  die  young. 

The  development  of  his  moral  character  was 
carefully  watched  by  his  devoted  parents.  They 
used  every  precaution  to  guard  his  youthful  heart 
against  the  snares  of  vice  and  folly ;  they  well 
knew  the  dangers  concealed  along  the  slippery 
pathway  of  youth,  and  the  great  importance  of 
the  maxim  of  the  wise  man,  Solomon,  "Train  up 
a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go,  and  when  he  is 
old  he  will  not  depart  from  it,"  not  to  use  every 
means  in  their  power  to  secure  the  religious  train- 


26  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

ing  of  their  children ;  and  when  kind  words  and 
persuasive  arguments  failed  to  bend  the  stubborn 
will  of  the  child,  they  did  not  spare  the  rod,  being 
fully  persuaded  that  "he  who  spareth  the  rod 
spoileth  the  child.'7  Little  Fletcher  was  early 
taught  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  the  necessity  of 
praying  to  Him,  an  important  lesson  which  cannot 
be  learned  too  early :  "Remember  now  thy  Creator 
in  the  days  of  thy  youth."  He,  like  the  youthful 
Timothy,  "knew  the  Holy  Scriptures  from  a  child;7' 
and  learned  to  attach  so  much  importance  to  prayer 
that  he  was  heard  to  remark  in  the  latter  part  of 
his  life:  "That  his  experience  had  proved  to  him 
that  prayer  was  as  beneficial  to  his  body  as  to  his 
soul,  and  that  without  prayer  his  body  would  not 
have  lasted  till  his  thirtieth  year.  Young  Reid 
was  naturally  possessed  of  a  clear,  discriminating 
mind,  with  great  powers  of  analysis,  and,  conse- 
quently, made  great  proficiency  in  his  studies. 
His  mind  developed  itself  rapidly,  so  that  he  was 
generally  in  advance  of  the  boys  of  his  own  age 
in  his  literary  attainments.  He  was  put  to  school 
very  young,  and  learned  rapidly.  His  mind  was 
developed  much  faster  than  his  body,  so  much  so 
that  he  appeared  precocious. 

In  the  year  1838,  at  the  age  of  thirteen  years, 
he  entered  Emory  and  Henry  College.  This  was 
about  the  time  that  the  College  Faculty  was  or- 
ganized ;  it  consisted  of  Rev.  Charles  A.  Collins, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  27 

President,  and  E.  E.  Wiley  and  Edmund  Longley, 
professors,  with  one  tutor.  He  was  a  member  of 
one  of  the  first  classes  organized  in  the  college. 
He  was  quite  small  for  his  age,  and  this,  in  con- 
nection with  his  literary  attainments,  commended 
him  to  the  favorable  consideration  of  the  faculty, 
and  gave  him  influence  among  the  students.  His 
correct  deportment  during  the  six  consecutive 
sessions  he  was  in  college  secured  him  the  appro- 
bation of  his  instructors  and  the  respect  of  his  fel- 
low students. 

His  college  life  was  pleasant ;  he  had  for  his 
room-mates  his  brother,  Wesley  Reid,  and  his 
uncle,  Benjamin  S.  Edwards,  the  youngest  brother 
of  his  sainted  mother,  both  of  whom  died  more 
than  twenty  years  ago.  He  continued  a  student 
in  Emoiy  and  Henry  College  three  years,  but  left 
the  institution  without  graduating,  though  he  had 
accomplished  most  of  the  academic  course  of  stud}". 
He  was  a  hard  student  at  College,  and  continued 
to  be  such  to  the  end  of  life.  He  learned  while 
in  college  how  to  discipline  his  mind  to  study,  and 
thereby  laid  the  foundation  of  his  future  eminence 
as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel.  He  there  learned  to 
know  the  scholar's  resources  and  their  use  ;  clear 
comprehension  of  men,  of  opinions  and  tendencies, 
to  see  quickly  and  clearl}',  to  discriminate  wisely, 
and  to  argue  with  directness  and  force.  His 
mental  faculties  were  wonderfully  developed  by 


28  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

his  collegiate  training,  and  no  doubt  that  his  future 
greatness  was  the  result  of  his  early  educational 
advantages. 

While  in  college  his  good  conduct,  his  close  ap- 
plication to  his  studies,  his  virtuous  habits  and 
his  gentlemanly  deportment,  commended  him  to 
the  esteem  of  all  who  knew  him.  He  was  a  prom- 
ising young  man,  and  while  in  school  bid  fair  to 
take  high  rank  in  society.  The  expectations  of 
his  friends  have  been  fully  realized  by  the  high 
position  he  has  occupied  in  his  various  relations 
to  society.  When  he  left  his  Alma  Mater  he  car- 
ried with  him  the  highest  regards  of  the  faculty, 
and  the  good  will  and  kind  affections  of  his  fellow 
students.  President  Wiley  writes  as  follows : 
"When  he  was  ivith  us,  he  was  a  youth  of  good 
promise.  I  have  met  him  but  few  times  since  in 
General  Conference.  My  last  interview  with  him 
was,  I  think,  at  General  Conference  in  Memphis. 
I  always  had  a  high  admiration  of  his  qualities  as 
a  Christian  gentleman,  and  of  his  abilities  as  an 
effective  speaker,  and  especially  as  an  extraordi- 
nary preacher  of  the  Gospel." 

At  the  tender  age  of  sixteen  he  left  the  college 
halls  to  go  out  and  commence  the  battle  of  active 
life.  He  returned  to  his  father's  house  at  Thomp- 
sonville,  Rockingham  County,  N.  C,  to  mingle 
with  relatives  and  friends  for  a  short  time  before 
entering  upon  the  occupation  which  he  had  chosen 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  29 

— that  of  teaching  school.  His  time  was  pleasantly 
spent  for  a  few  weeks  in  visiting  his  friends  and 
in  attending  social  parties  with  the  young  people 
during  his  holiday.  This  was  truly  a  jubilee  to 
his  young  and  buoyant  heart.  His  festive  days 
passed  rapidly  away,  and  he  was  soon  to  enter 
upon  new  duties  and  to  assume  new  responsibil- 
ities. 

In  his  seventeenth  }rear  he  commenced  a  school 
in  Thompsonville,  N.  C.  This  was  the  village  in 
which  his  father's  family  resided.  His  school  was 
a  mixed  school,  made  up  of  boys  and  girls,  and 
some  of  them  his  seniors.  Rev.  James  H.  Brent 
was  one  of  his  pupils,  as,  also,  his  own  little  sisters 
and  brothers.  This  scholastic  year  was  one  of 
great  anxiety  to  him  ;  he  was  young  and  inex- 
perienced in  the  management  of  schools,  but  with 
his  strong  will  and  energetic  nature  he  soon  ex- 
hibited considerable  executive  ability.  He  suc- 
ceeded in  the  management  of  the  school  to  the  en- 
tire satisfaction  of  his  employers.  It  was  during 
this  year  that  he  attended  the  great  camp  meeting 
at  Mount  Carmel,  in  company  with  his  father's 
family.  This  camp  meeting  was  in  the  pastoral 
charge  of  the  sainted  John  Rich  ;  Rev.  Samuel  S. 
Bryant  was  the  Presiding  Elder.  There  were  a 
great  many  preachers  in  attendance  at  this  meet- 
ing, and  all  of  them  seemed  to  be  filled  with  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     On  the  first  evening. 


30  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

at  the  first  service,  Divine  power  came  upon  the 
congregation.  Christians  got  happy,  and  sinners 
were  awakened.  The  work  went  on,  increasing 
in  interest  from  day  to  day  ;  the  word  was  preached 
in  great  power  and  demonstration  of  the  Spirit. 
The  work  of  awakening  and  conversion  continued 
to  increase  among  the  people,  until  it  was  ascer- 
tained that  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  souls 
had  been  happily  converted  to  God. 

This  meeting  more  resembled  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost than  any  other  scene  ever  witnessed  by  the 
writer.  The  young,  the  old,  male  and  female, 
rich  and  poor,  white  and  colored,  all  partook  of 
the  gracious  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  in  the 
language  of  one  of  old,  "The  rich  and  the  poor 
met  together,  and  God  was  the  maker  of  them  all." 

Among  the  converts  at  the  great  Carmel  camp 
meeting  was  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  It  was  here 
that  Numa  Fletcher  Reid  was  happily  converted 
to  God,  with  his  brother  Wesley,  his  two  sisters, 
Ann  and  Mary,  and  James  H.  Brent,  one  of  his 
students,  who  afterwards  became  an  able  minister 
of  the  gospel  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
South.  These  have  all  kept  the  faith,  finished 
their  course,  and  have  died  in  peace ;  they  all 
died  in  the  bloom  of  youth  except  the  subject  of 
this  sketch.  He  conferred  not  with  flesh  and 
blood,  but  immediately  connected  himself  with 
the   Methodist  Church,   and   continued    to   be    a 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  31 

prominent  and  useful  member  of  it  to  the  clay  of 
his  death.  It  was  in  the  year  1843  that  he  was 
converted  to  God,  and  joined  the  Church,  having 
just  entered  his  eighteenth  year.  He  went  from 
the  camp  meeting  with  a  heart  full  of  love  to  God 
and  all  mankind,  to  resume  the  duties  of  his 
school.  He  was  now  better  prepared  to  meet  his 
obligations  than  he  was  before  his  conversion  to 
God.  With  the  love  of  God  shed  abroad  in  his 
heart  he  was  greatly  delighted  with  the  duties  of 
religion,  such  as  attending  the  ministration  of  the 
Word,  the  social  prayer  meetings,  and  the  class 
meetings.  The  revival  flame  spread  all  around 
the  Rockingham  Circuit ;  it  reached  the  church  at 
Lowe's  Chapel,  near  Thompsonville,  and  many 
precious  souls  were  converted  there,  and  gathered 
into  the  Church.  Young  Reid  entered  fully  into 
the  spirit  of  the  work,  and  rendered  active  ser- 
vice in  carrying  it  on  ;  it  was  a  gracious  season, 
long  to  be  remembered.  Many  of  the  subjects  of 
this  revival  have  long  since  been  transferred  from 
the  Church  militant  on  earth  to  the  Church 
triumphant  in  glory. 

At  the  end  of  this  year  his  school  at  Thomp- 
sonville closed.  He  spent  several  weeks  of  vaca- 
tion ;  during  his  holidays  he  visited  many  of  his 
friends,  and  had  a  pleasant  time  ;  but  such  was 
his  energetic  nature  that  he  could  not  be  long 
contented  without  some  useful  employment.     In 


32  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

the  year  1844  lie  taught  a  school  at  Salem  Church, 
near  Reidsville,  Rockingham  County.  He  boarded 
at  the  house  of  his  esteemed  uncle,  F.  James 
Meador,  a  Christian  gentleman  of  excellent  char- 
acter for  honesty  and  virtue,  and  of  deep  piety. 
The  example  of  this  good  man  had  a  most  salu- 
tary influence  upon  the  mind  and.  conduct  of 
young  Reid ;  in  after  life  he  often  spoke  of  the 
excellent  qualities  of  his  Uncle  Meador.  This 
good  man  passed  away  to  the  spirit  land  a  few 
years  before  him.  He  spent  his  time  pleasantly 
in  this  interesting  family.  He  discharged  his 
duties  in  this  school  to  the  satisfaction  of  his 
patrons.  After  the  close  of  his  school  at  Salem, 
in  company  with  one  of  his  fellow  students,  he 
made  a  visit  to  his  Alma  Mater,  Emory  and  Henry 
College  ;  it  was  the  time  of  commencement,  and  it 
was  a  heartfelt  pleasure  to  pay  his  respects  to  his 
revered  preceptors,  and  to  mingle  again  with  his 
fellow  students  in  the  sacred  halls  of  learning, 
where  he  had  spent  so  many  happy  days.  On 
his  return  to  Rockingham  County,  N.  C,  he  en- 
tered into  copartnership  with  Franklin  L.  Harris, 
a  fellow  student,  and  a  graduate  of  Emory  and 
Henry  College,  to  carry  on  an  academy  in  the 
town  of  Wentworth,  N.  C. 

The  Wentworth  Academy  opened  in  the  early 
part  of  the  year  1845,  with  flattering  prospects. 
It  consisted  of   a  male  and  female  department, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  33 

under  the  joint  supervision  of  N.  F.  Reid  and 
Franklin  L.  Harris.  They  were  assisted  by  one 
competent  female  teacher.  The  school  soon  num- 
bered between  fifty  and  sixty  pupils ;  it  was  a 
decided  success  in  every  particular. 

Many  of  the  students  made  good  proficiency  in 
their  studies.  At  the  close  of  the  scholastic  year, 
Mr.  Reid  and  Mr.  Harris  dissolved  their  copartner- 
ship by  mutual  consent.  The  Wentworth  Academy 
had  taken  such  hold  on  the  community,  and  had 
become  so  popular,  that  the  citizens  earnestly  solic- 
ited Mr.  Reid  to  carry  it  on  as  sole  proprietor  ;  this 
was  quite  an  undertaking  to  one  so  young,  having 
just  turned  his  nineteenth  year.  In  the  year  1846 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  carried  on  the  Wentworth 
Academy,  in  both  the  male  and  female  depart- 
ments, assisted  by  one  female  teacher.  B}r  his  in- 
domitable energy  and  his  executive  skill,  he  man- 
aged the  school  so  well  that  it  gradually  continued 
to  increase  in  popularity.  He  was  firm  in  his  ad- 
ministration of  discipline,  and  consequently  had 
very  little  trouble  in  the  management  of  school ; 
he  commanded  both  the  reverence  and  respect  of 
his  pupils.  He  exhibited  in  his  deportment  so 
many  excellent  qualities  that  he  soon  wielded  an 
influence  in  the  community  unparalleled  for  one  of 
his  age.  He  was  frequently  applied  to  by  the  citi- 
zens for  counsel  or  advice  in  matters  of  difficulty. 
His  having  commenced  his  public  career  so  young. 

3 


34  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

and  having  been  thrown  on  his  own  resources  so 
early  in  life,  greatly  strengthened  his  character, 
and  enabled  him  in  more  mature  age  to  have  so 
much  sagacity  in  managing  and  settling  difficulties 
between  contending  parties ;  he  has  from  his  youth 
been  entitled  to  the  blessing  of  the  peace-maker. 

Having  become  settled  in  his  purpose  to  spend 
his  whole  life  in  useful  pursuits,  and  as  he  was  now 
approaching  the  age  of  manhood,  and  soon  to  be 
called  upon  to  exercise  the  functions  of  a  freeman, 
in  the  body  politic,  he  determined  to  marry,  and 
settle  himself.  In  pursuance  of  this  purpose,  he 
was  married  on  the  11th  of  August,  1846,  to  Miss 
Ann  E.  Wright,  eldest  daughter  of  James  and 
Ella  Wright,  of  Wentworth,  N.  C,  a  few  days  after 
he  was  twenty-one  years  old. 

Some  of  the  wisest  and  best  men  have  advocated 
early  marriages  as  best  calculated  to  promote  both 
the  happiness  and  usefulness  of  mankind.  It  is 
highly  probable  that  the  early  marriage  of  Numa 
F.  Eeid  contributed  to  his  extensive  usefulness  in 
life.  His  wife  lived  to  be  the  mother  of  eight 
children — four  sons,  and  four  daughters  ;  all  of 
them  are  now  living  except  the  first  born — a  nice 
little  girl,  who  died  before  she  was  two  years  old. 
This  bereavement,  in  connection  with  the  death  of 
his  brother  Wesley  Eeid,  no  doubt  had  the  salu- 
tary effect  to  detach  his  affections  from  the  crea- 
ture, and  fix  them  more  firmly  upon  his  Creator. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  35 

As  his  school  progressed  and  gained  influence 
in  the  surrounding  neighborhoods,  many  of  his 
friends  sought  to  avail  themselves  of  its  advan- 
tages by  boarding  their  children  in  the  town.  He, 
therefore,  fitted  up  an  establishment  for  house- 
keeping, with  an  arrangement  for  boarding  pupils; 
and  in  this,  found  his  wife  to  be  a  true  helpmeet  in 
the  management  of  his  domestic  affairs.  There 
are  still  living  useful  men  and  women,  now  heads 
of  families  and  useful  members  of  society,  who 
were  once  his  pupils  and  boarders  in  his  family  ; 
they  will  never  forget  his  kind  attentions  and 
good  advice.  He  had  a  kind  heart,  full  of  sym- 
pathy for  his  fellow  creatures,  ever  ready  to  ad- 
minister to  suffering  humanity.  He  passed  through 
his  second  year  in  Wentworth  Academy  with 
credit  to  himself  and  with  profit  to  his  pupils. 

About  the  close  of  his  second  year  in  Went- 
worth Academy  he  joined  the  Fraternity  of  Free 
Masons,  and  took  great  delight  in  the  workings 
of  the  order.  Soon  after  he  was  raised  to  the  sub- 
lime degree  of  a  Master  Mason,  he  was  elected 
and  installed  to  office  in  the  Lodge  at  Wentworth, 
and  continued  to  fill  the  subordinate  offices  of  the 
lodge  until  he  was  chosen  Worshipful  Master. 
He  continued  to  fill  the  office  of  Worshipful  Mas- 
ter for  a  number  of  years  with  credit  to  himself 
and  profit  to  the  Order.  He  understood  well  the 
principles  and  workings  of  Masonry,  and  fulfilled 


36  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

its  obligations.  He  was  a  bright  Mason,  and  con- 
tinned  to  take  a  deep  interest  in  the  order  to  the 
close  of  his  life.  While  he  was  the  Master  of  his 
lodge  he  did  not  allow  immoral  or  unmasonic  con- 
duct in  a  member  to  pass  uncorrected,  but  used 
every  available  means  to  reform  the  delinquent 
brother,  and  if  these  all  failed  to  bring  about  the 
desired  reformation,  he  would  then  execute  the 
laws  of  the  order  rigidly.  He  frequently  repre- 
sented his  lodge  in  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the 
State,  and  also  filled  one  of  the  offices  of  the 
Grand  Lodge.  He  delivered  an  address  at  the 
Centennial  Anniversary  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
North  Carolina,  which  was  regarded  by  many 
as  the  ablest  effort  of  his  life.  He  regarded  Free 
Masonry  as  one  of  the  noblest  charitable  institu- 
tions on  earth  ;  a  good  institution  to  live  with  ;  its 
obligations  require  its  members  to  discharge  their 
obligations  to  God,  to  their  country  and  to  their 
fellow  creatures.  It  dispenses  charity  to  the 
needy,  it  cares  for  and  administers  to  the  sick 
while  they  live,  it  closes  their  eyes  when  the}'  die, 
deposits  their  mortal  remains  in  the  charael  house 
with  the  honors  of  the  Order.  It  goes  thus  far 
and  no  farther.  The  religion  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
passes  the  soul  through  the  portals  of  the  skies  to 
glory.  Free  Masonry  turns  from  the  scene  of  sor- 
row to  administer  comfort  to  the  widow  and  the 
orphan.     The    Grand    Lodge    of  North   Carolina 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  37 

paid  a  beautiful  tribute  to  the  character  of  Numa 
F.  Reid,  which  the  reader  will  see  in  the  closing 
part  of  this  sketch. 

Mr.  Reid  entered  upon  his  third  year's  labor  in 
Wentworth  Academy  in  the  year  1847,  with  re- 
newed purpose  and  energy.  He  had  been  for 
some  time  an  official  member  of  the  Church,  and 
took  an  active  part  in  the  official  business  of  the 
quarterly  Conferences  and  of  the  finances  of  the 
Circuit.  He  felt  moved  upon,  as  he  believed,  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  to  preach  the  Gospel,  and  with 
this  impression  resting  upon  his  mind,  he  con- 
ferred not  with  flesh  and  blood  but  applied  at  once 
for  a  permit  from  the  Church  ;  and  the  quarterly 
Conference  of  the  Wentworth  Circuit,  after  due 
examinations  of  his  qualifications,  licensed  him  to 
exercise  his  gifts  as  a  local  preacher  in  the  M.  E. 
Church  South. 

This  was  the  turning  point  in  his  history  for  his 
future  greatness  and  usefulness  as  a  minister  of 
the  Gospel.  He  at  once  commenced  his  ministry, 
sometimes  assisting  the  preacher  in  charge  of  the 
circuit  at  his  protracted  meetings,  and  frequently 
filling  appointments  of  his  own.  The  people 
flocked  to  hear  him,  and  the  Lord  put  the  seal  of 
approbation  upon  his  ministry  by  the  awakening 
and  conversion  of  souls.  He  passed  through  this 
year  teaching  through  the  week,  and  preaching  on 
the  Sabbath  ;  the  people  became  more  interested 


38  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

in  his  ministry  as  they  continued  to  hear  him. 
At  the  end  of  his  scholastic  year  the  citizens  in- 
sisted that  he  should  keep  up  the  school  in  Went- 
worth,  and  he  gave  his  consent  to  teach  another 
year. 

After  a  short  vacation  he  entered  upon  his 
fourth  and  last  year's  labor  in  the  Wentworth 
Academy.  This  year,  1848,  ended  his  days  of 
school  teaching.  He  did  not  feel  as  much  in- 
terest in  teaching  this  year  as  formerly  ;  his  mind 
was  drawn  out  in  another  direction.  He  felt  a 
burning  zeal  at  heart  to  be  fully  engaged  in  the 
work  of  the  ministry  ;  he  had  a  severe  conflict ; 
his  sense  of  duty  and  the  impulses  of  his  con- 
science urged  him  to  give  himself  fully  to  the 
ministry  ;  while  he  knew  that  some  of  his  dearest 
friends  were  opposed  to  his  entering  the  itin- 
eracy, and  another  of  the  learned  professions 
offered  him  a  better  field  for  worldly  distinction 
and  a  better  support,  but  he  chose  rather  to  suffer 
reproach,  and  hardship,  and  poverty  in  this  life, 
and  have  a  good  conscience  and  the  hope  of  ever- 
lasting life,  than  to  enjoy  the  emoluments  and 
riches  of  the  world.  How  few  are  willing  to 
trust  the  Lord  and  walk  by  faith  ;  they  want  to 
see  the  result ;  they  want  to  walk  by  sight,  not 
willing  to  rely  on  the  promises  of  our  Heavenly 
Father  for  their  reward  in  the  world  to  come. 
They    seek   present  good.     The   writer  of    this 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  39 

sketch  often  conversed  .with  him  during  this  year 
about  entering  fully  into  the  work  of  the  ministry, 
and  after  many  conversations,  and  fully  investi- 
gating the  whole  subject,  it  was  agreed  upon  in 
confidence  to  consult  the  Presiding  Elder  of  the 
District  on  the  propriety  of  leaving  the  Went- 
worth  Circuit  to  be  supplied,  and  to  employ  him 
to  take  charge  of  it  the  ensuing  year.  This  plan 
was  not  even  made  known  to  the  Presiding  Elder 
until  a  very  short  time  before  the  meeting  of  the 
Annual  Conference,  he  having  already  spoken  to 
the  writer  to  take  charge  of  the  said  Circuit  the  en- 
suing year.  The  subject  of  our  sketch  continued 
to  teach  through  the  week  and  to  preach  on 
Sabbath  until  the  close  of  his  scholastic  year, 
which  ended  his  career  as  a  school  teacher. 

At  the  ensuing  Annual  Conference  Wentworth 
Circuit  was  left  to  be  supplied  with  Rev.  Numa 
F.  Reid  for  the  year  1849.  He  entered  at  once 
upon  his  work  in  this  new  relation  as  pastor, 
which  was  destined,  as  his  subsequent  history  has 
proven,  to  be  a  glorious  success.  He  made  rapid 
improvement  in  the  ministry,  and  constantly  in- 
creased in  usefulness  and  popularity  among  the 
people  ;  great  good  was  accomplished  through  his 
instrumentality  this  year.  He  was  well  received 
on  every  part  of  the  circuit,  and  applied  himself 
diligently  to  his  work  ;  he  attended  to  his  pastoral 
duties  more  like  an  experienced  preacher  than  one 


40  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

just  entering  upon  the  work.  He  was  a  close 
student — not  only  applying  himself  to  the  study  of 
books,  but  he  also  studied  men  and  character- 
His  mind  developed  itself  rapidly  ;  he  made  satis- 
factory improvement  in  his  pulpit  efforts,  and  soon 
became  a  workman  "not  to  be  ashamed."  He 
was  not  only  popular  with  the  members  of  his 
own  Church,  but  he  was  much  beloved  by  the 
members  of  other  denominations. 

It  has  been  stated  already  that  he  left  college 
before  he  graduated,  but  had  gone  through  nearly 
all  the  academic  course.  He  continued  by  close 
application  to  improve  his  education  until  he  had 
become  a  ripe  scholar ;  and  about  this  time  the 
Faculty  and  Trustees  of  Randolph  Macon  College 
conferred  on  him  the  honorary  degree  of  Master 
of  Arts,  and  never  did  they  confer  this  degree  on 
one  more  worthy  to  receive  it.  His  labors  on 
Wentworth  Circuit  were  greatly  blessed  to  the 
edification  and  building  up  of  the  church ;  and  as 
the  year  drew  towards  its  close  the  people  mani- 
fested considerable  anxiety  for  his  return  to  the 
Circuit  another  year ;  and  at  the  next  Annual  Con- 
ference the  Presiding  Elder  of  the  District  request- 
ed the  Bishop  to  employ  him  to  take  charge  of  the 
Wentworth  Circuit  again. 

In  the  year  1850  he  entered  upon  his  labors 
with  renewed  zeal  and  energy  on  the  Wentworth 
Circuit,     He  was  most  cordially  received  by  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  41 

church,  and  by  the  people  outside  of  the  church ; 
he  was  a  success  in  his  work.  He  held  an  inter- 
esting camp  meeting  this  year  near  the  town  of 
Madison,  which  resulted  in  the  conversion  of  a 
number  of  souls,  and  quite  a  number  of  accessions 
to  the  Church.  He  held  protracted  meetings  at 
nearly  all  of  his  appointments,  which  resulted  in 
great  good  ;  many  souls  were  converted  and  added 
to  the  Lord.  His  ministry  was  a  great  blessing 
to  the  people  of  vVentworth  Circuit,  and  as  the 
year  began  to  draw  to  a  close  the  people  regretted 
having  to  part  with  him.  He  had  fully  deter- 
mined to  offer  himself  to  the  Conference  to  join 
the  travelling  connection.  At  the  close  of  this 
year  the  Conference  held  its  annual  meeting  in 
the  town  of  Salisbury,  N.  C.  At  this  Conference 
he  was  ordained  a  Deacon,  and  admitted  on  trial 
into  the  travelling  connection. 

He  wras  this  year  appointed  to  Tar  River  Cir- 
cuit. This  circuit  embraced  the  town  of  Louis- 
burg.  On  his  return  from  Conference  to  his  family 
he  had  his  itinerant  zeal  tested.  His  wife  and  her 
friends  consented  very  reluctantly  for  him  to  take 
his  family  away  to  live  among  strangers,  and  for 
himself  to  be  absent  from  home  a  large  portion  of 
his  time ;  but  while  his  heart  was  much  affected 
by  his  surroundings,  he  felt  that  he  had  put  his 
hand  to  the  plow,  and  to  look  back  would  be  dis- 
astrous. 

3* 


42  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

The  winter  of  this  year  was  unusually  cold  and 
drear  about  the  time  that  the  preachers  of  the 
North  Carolina  Conference  were  making  arrange- 
ments to  remove  to  their  new  charges.  The 
streams  were  locked  up  with  ice  and  the  landscape 
clad  with  snow.  Such  was  the  unpropitious  season 
for  our  young  itinerant  to  remove  his  family  to  his 
new  charge,  one  hundred  miles  by  private  con- 
veyance, over  rough  roads,  and  in  the  midst  of 
winter.  Encouraged  by  the  promise  of  the  Master, 
"Lo!  I  am  with  you  alway,"  he  addressed  himself 
to  his  journey,  and,  after  a  few  days  of  rough  travel 
and  toil  with  his  helpless  little  family,  he  found 
himself  comfortably  domiciled  in  the  parsonage  in 
the  town  of  Louisburg,  N.  C,  in  the  midst  of  as 
refined,  whole  souled,  warm  hearted  a  Methodist 
community  as  can  be  found  anywhere  in  the 
bounds  of  the  N.  C.  Conference.  Our  young 
itinerant  felt  himself  at  once  in  the  midst  of  true 
friends  and  brethren  beloved,  who  seemed  to  vie 
with  each  other  in  acts  of  kindness  to  render  their 
new  preacher  and  his  family  comfortable.  His 
heart  was  cheered  and  his  zeal  inflamed  to  put 
forth  his  best  efforts  to  render  himself  useful  in 
his  charge. 

Many  a  poor  itinerant  minister  has  had  the 
ardor  of  his  zeal  so  chilled  by  the  indifference  he 
has  met  on  his  arrival  in  his  charge,  as  to  so  crip- 
ple his  energies  that  he  has  not  been  able  to  rally 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  43 

his  resources  for  usefulness  throughout  the  year, 
and  has  become  so  discouraged  as  to  accomplish 
but  little  good ;  whereas,  by  a  different  course  of 
conduct  on  the  part  of  the  people  toward  him,  he 
might  have  been  useful,  and  might  have  proved  to 
be  a  blessing  to  the  people,  and  the  people  a  bless- 
ing to  him. 

It  was  with  considerable  misgivings  that  he  com- 
menced his  labors  on  Tar  River  Circuit  in  the 
year  1852.  He  feared  that  he  would  not  be  able 
to  meet  the  expectations  of  the  people  on  account 
of  his  want  of  experience  in  the  ministry;  but 
when  he  became  better  acquainted  with  the  tem- 
per and  disposition  of  the  people  his  apprehensions 
all  subsided.  They  had  an  affectionate  regard 
for  him ;  they  took  him  by  the  hand  to  help  him 
on ;  they  showed  him  great  respect  and  treated 
him  with  the  utmost  kindness.  This  stimulated 
him  to  labor  with  more  zeal  and  earnestness,  that 
he  might  be  useful  to  them  and  deserve  their  kind 
attentions. 

The  Lord  greatly  blessed  his  labors  this  year  in 
building  up  the  Church,  and  in  the  advancement  of 
the  Redeemer's  Kingdom.  He  had  many  seals  to 
his  ministry  this  year — he  saw  the  pleasure  of  the 
Lord  prosper  in  his  hands.  But,  alas !  in  the  midst 
of  his  prosperity  and  usefulness  his  family  circle 
was  visited  by  death,  and  two  of  his  sisters  passed 
away  from  this  terrene  abode  to  the  spirit  land. 


44  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

Miss  Ann  Reid,  the  eldest  sister  of  Rev.  N.  F. 
Reid,  died  in  the  early  part  of  this  year,  after 
lingering  for  a  long  time  with  pulmonary  eon- 
sumption.  In  compliance  with  her  earnest  desire 
her  father  concluded  to  remove  his  family  from 
Thompson ville  to  Louisburg,  N.  C,  in  order  to  be 
more  conveniently  situated  to  his  work,  which  was 
that  of  Presiding  Elder  on  the  Wilmington  Dis- 
trict, and  to  have  the  society  of  his  son,  Rev.  N. 
F.  Reid,  and  his  family.  He  accordingly  made 
his  arrangements,  and  set  out  with  his  family, 
removing  across  the  country  by  private  convey- 
ance. On  the  second  day  of  the  journey  they  had 
reached  Hillsboro',  nearly  half  the  distance  to 
Louisburg,  when  they  found  that  Ann  was  rapidly 
sinking  into  the  embrace  of  death.  They  called 
in  at  the  house  of  a  friend,  and  she  soon  fell  asleep 
in  Jesus.  She  died  in  a  very  short  time  after 
they  had  stopped.  She  was  a  lovely  and  amiable 
young  lady,  of  a  highly  cultivated  mind,  and  sweet 
disposition.  She  was  a  Christian,  and  died  in 
peace  with  Glod,  and  with  all  mankind.  After 
locating  in  the  town  of  Louisburg,  Miss  Julia  Reid 
was  placed  in  school  in  the  academy  of  Mr.  A. 
Ray.  She  was  a  young  lady  of  extraordinary 
promise — the  very  picture  of  good  health.  She 
continued  for  two  or  three  months  to  attend  the 
school  and  make  satisfactory  proficiency  in  her 
studies,  until  she  began  to  complain  of  feebleness, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  45 

and  exhibit  symptoms  of  consumption.  The  dis- 
ease developed  itself  rapidly.  She  died  about  the 
1st  of  November,  a  few  days  before  the  meeting 
of  the  North  Carolina  Annual  Conference  in  the 
town  of  Louisburg.  She  died  in  great  peace. 
This  dispensation  of  Providence  greatly  affected 
the  heart  and  feelings  of  Eev.  N.  F.  Eeid.  For  a 
time  gloom  and  despondency  overshadowed  his 
mind,  but  the  grace  of  God  was  sufficient  for  him. 
Like  one  of  old  he  could  say,  "The  Lord  gave, 
and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away,  and  blessed  be  the 
name  of  the  Lord." 

It  has  been  stated  already,  that  the  North  Caro- 
lina Conference  was  convened  this  year  in  the 
town  of  Louisburg.  Such  was  the  popularity  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  that  a  general  wish  from 
all  parts  of  the  Circuit  came  up  to  Conference  for 
his  return.  At  the  close  of  Conference  his  name 
was  read  out  for  Tar  Eiver  Circuit  for  the  second 
year.  Soon  after  Conference  adjourned  he  visited 
his  friends  in  the  county  of  Rockingham,  and  spent 
a  few  days  of  recreation,  visiting  his  old  neigh- 
bors. He  was  much  devoted  to  his  friends,  and 
entertained  a  high  regard  for  his  kindred.  He 
has  often  remarked  that  wherever  he  knew  that 
the  blood  of  his  ancestors  ran  through  the  veins  of 
an  individual,  it  mattered  not  how  obscure  that 
person  might  be,  he  felt  an  affection  and  tender 
regard  for  him. 


46  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

Having  spent  his  short  vacation  pleasantly  with 
his  friends,  he  returned  to  his  parsonage  home  in 
Louisburg,  greatly  benefitted  and  built  up  in  his 
physical  nature,  to  commence  his  labors  for  an- 
other year.  He  commenced  his  work  in  the  year 
1853  under  very  favorable  circumstances.  Having 
Grod's  blessing  resting  upon  him,  and  being  in 
favor  with  the  people  of  his  charge,  he  looked  for 
prosperity  and  success  in  his  work,  nor  did  he 
look  in  vain,  for  the  Lord  poured  out  His  spirit 
upon  him,  and  he  had  a  prosperous  time.  His 
people  regarded  him  as  a  preacher  of  extraordi- 
nary ability.  He  continued  to  be  a  close  student, 
and  had  his  mind  well  stored  with  useful  know- 
ledge— had  the  scholar's  ability  to  apply  it.  He 
was  now  approaching  the  culminating  point  in  his 
ministerial  greatness.  He  was  popular  with  his 
own  members  and  with  the  members  of  other 
churches,  and  especially  was  he  popular  with  the 
young  men  of  the  community. 

In  addition  to  his  great  pulpit  abilities,  he  was 
a  Christian  gentleman ;  he  possessed  a  good  social 
nature,  polished  manners  and  a  fine  address— few 
men  possess  as  many  excellent  qualities  as  he  did. 
He  was  associated  with  gentlemen  in  the  different 
learned  professions,  and  connected  with  several 
benevolent  societies.  He  was  a  member  of  several 
temperance  organizations,  and  frequently  deliv- 
ered temperance  addresses.     He  was  a  devoted 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  47 

friend  of  education,  and  frequently  delivered  edu- 
cational addresses.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  a  Royal 
Arch  Mason.  He  was  a  good  platform  speaker 
and  an  excellent  debater.  It  is  questionable 
whether  any  other  man  in  North  Carolina  ever 
contributed  as  much  to  promote  the  cause  of  re- 
ligion, benevolence  and  education  in  so  short  a 
time.  Since  the  commencement  of  his  public 
career  his  life  had  been  one  of  great  activity  and 
usefulness,  always  laboring  to  do  good.  Few 
men  had  more  admirers,  was  more  nattered,  and 
yet  exhibited  less  vanity  than  he  did.  He  gave 
God  all  the  glory  for  whatever  good  was  accom- 
plished through  his  instrumentality. 

His  second  year  on  Tar  River  Circuit  was  more 
pleasant  and  successful  than  the  first ;  he  made 
himself  a  great  many  friends  outside  of  the 
Church,  and  had  a  strong  hold  on  the  affections  of 
the  people  generally.  In  the  early  part  of  this 
year  he  was  called  upon  to  pass  through  another 
sad  dispensation  of  Providence,  by  the  death  of 
his  only  surviving  sister,  Miss  Mary  Reid.  She, 
also,  was  a  young  lady  of  very  great  promise,  and 
possessed  of  many  excellent  qualities  ;  she  was  in 
the  bloom  of  youth,  and  apparently  in  good 
health,  with  a  good  physical  constitution.  She 
attended  the  funeral  of  her  younger  sister,  and 
rode  in  a  carriage  with  the  writer  and  his  family 


48  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

from  the  funeral ;  she  appeared  to  be  overwhelmed 
with  grief,  and  was  inconsolable ;  said  that  she 
could  submit  to  the  dispensation  of  Providence, 
because  it  was  right,  but  that  she  felt  sail ;  and 
that  there  was  an  impression  upon  her  mind  that 
she  would  soon  die.  From  that  time  her  mind 
was  overshadowed  with  a  melancholy  gloom.  She 
was  troubled  with  a  cough,  and  soon  had  symp- 
toms of  consumption.  She  lingered  for  six  or 
eight  weeks,  and  died  in  peace.  She  was  a  Chris- 
tian. The  subject  of  this  biography  was  deeply 
impressed  by  the  death  of  this  devoted  sister. 
He  had  already  been  troubled  with  foreboding 
fears  of  consumption,  and  now  for  awhile  was 
despondent  and  gloomy ;  but  by  "trampling  under 
foot  that  enthusiastic  doctrine,  that  we  are  not  to 
do  good  unless  our  hearts  be  free  to  it,"  he  con- 
tinued to  prosecute  his  work  in  the  ministry  and 
received  consolation  in  his  own  soul  from  the 
precious  truths  he  preached  to  others.  He  con- 
tinued to  do  the  work  of  a  minister  of  the  Gospel 
with  an  eye  single  to  the  glory  of  God,  and  was 
successful  in  winning  souls  to  Christ.  As  the  year 
was  drawing  toward  its  close,  the  church  on  Tar 
Eiver  Circuit,  as  well  as  the  people  generally, 
were  sorry  to  part  from  him.  Had  the  rule  ex- 
tending the  pastorate  then  been  in  existence,  the 
people  would  have  complained  if  he  had  not  been 
returned  to  them  another  year.     He  felt  that  he 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  49 

must  tear  himself  away  from  many  true  and 
cleyoted  friends  ;  but  he  consoled  himself  with 
the  promise  of  the  Master,  "Lo !  I  am  with  you." 
The  North  Carolina  Conference  was  held  this  year 
in  the  City  of  Raleigh.  At  this  session  he 
received  Elder's  Orders,  and  was  appointed  to 
Front  Street  Station,  in  the  City  of  Wilmington, 
which  was  then  the  largest  station  in  the  Confer- 
ence, and  considered  to  be  the  most  critical  to  fill, 
owing  to  some  difficulties  growing  out  of  the 
transfer  of  territory  from  the  South  Carolina  to 
the  North  Carolina  Conference. 

From  the  Conference  in  Raleigh  he  returned  to 
Louisburg,  to  make  arrangements  to  remoye  his 
family  to  his  new  charge  in  Wilmington.  Al- 
though he  had  a  considerable  distance  to  moye, 
he  did  not  have  to  travel  by  private  conveyance, 
making  tedious  rides  over  bad  roads,  but  travelled 
by  railway,  and  in  one  day  reached  the  end  of  his 
journey.  His  family  was  soon  comfortably  domi- 
ciled in  the  parsonage  of  Front  Street  Station,  on 
a  lot  adjoining  the  church.  He  was  at  once  ready 
to  enter  upon  his  arduous  pastoral  duties  ;  but  he 
felt  a  heavy  weight  of  responsibility  resting  upon 
him.  The  Front  Street  charge  numbered  about 
400  white  and  1200  colored  members,  making 
heavy  work  for  the  pastor.  As  he  was  unaccus- 
tomed to  Station  work,  and  of  a  feeble  constitution, 
with  poor  health,  no  wonder  that  he  felt  himself 


50  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

insufficient  to  perform  the  task  before  Mm.  He 
looked  to  Him  for  assistance  who  sa}rs,  "  Lo,  I  am 
with  you  to  the  end  of  the  world,'7  and  felt  his 
heart  greatly  strengthened  for  the  work  before 
him.  By  his  pulpit  efforts  he  soon  won  the 
admiration  of  his  hearers  ;  and  by  his  zeal  and 
devotion  in  the  pastoral  work  he  gained  the  affec- 
tions of  the  members  of  his  charge.  His  preach- 
ing was  wonderfully  blessed  to  the  edification  of 
his  congregation  ;  he  would  occasionally  throw  all 
the  energies  of  his  soul  into  a  discourse,  and  have 
all  his  hearers  in  raptures  of  joy  and  admiration. 
Had  his  physical  abilities  been  equal  to  his 
mental  and  spiritual  capacities,  he  might  have 
accomplished  incomparable  good  in  the  city  of 
Wilmington  this  year.  The  humidity  of  the  at- 
mosphere had  such  a  depressing  influence  on  his 
system  in  midsummer  that  he  was  compelled  to 
repair  to  the  up  country  in  order  to  recuperate 
his  health.  While  up  the  country  he  made  a  visit 
to  the  writer  at  Roxboro',  N.  C,  and  attended  a 
quarterly  meeting  in  company  with  his  father, 
who  was  at  that  time  Presiding  Elder  of  the  Dis- 
trict. He  occupied  the  pulpit  on  Sabbath  after- 
noon and  preached  to  a  large  and  intelligent  con- 
gregation. His  subject  was  "the  Cross  of  Christ." 
He  presented  the  truth  with  great  force  and  power, 
and  uttered  such  peals  of  eloquence  as  seldom 
falls  to  the  lot  of  mortal  man  to  hear ;  the  whole 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  51 

congregation,    white    and    colored,     were    over- 
whelmed by  the  power  of  his  eloquence. 

That  sermon  made  a  deep  and  lasting  im- 
pression upon  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  people  ; 
and  although  more  than  a  score  of  years  have 
elapsed  since  that  sermon  was  delivered,  it  is  still 
remembered  by  many  of  the  people  around 
Bailey's  Chapel.  He  spent  a  profitable  year  in 
Wilmington  ;  it  passed  off  pleasantly,  and  he  was 
greatly  attached  to  the  Front  Street  congregation. 
His  constitution  not  being  adapted  to  the  climate 
of  the  low  lands,  it  was  thought  by  his  friends 
that  it  would  be  better  for  him  to  have  an  appoint- 
ment higher  up  the  country.  The  Annual  Con- 
ference was  held  this  year  in  the  town  of  Pitts- 
boro',  N.  C.  ;  Bishop  G-.  F.  Pierce  presided  at  this 
Conference,  and  here  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
first  became  acquainted  with  him,  and  they  were 
ever  afterwards  intimate  friends.  At  this  Con- 
ference he  began  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  de- 
liberations of  the  body,  and  was  sometimes  placed 
on  important  committees,  and  participated  in  its 
debates.  He  argued  with  great  force  and  fairness, 
and  soon  became  one  of  the  best  debaters  and  one 
of  the  most  influential  members  of  the  Conference. 
He  was  appointed  to  Ealeigh  City  to  take  charge 
of  the  Edenton  Street  Church  for  the  year  1855. 
He  went  from  the  Pittsboro'  Conference  to  enter 
upon  his  work  in  the  City  of  Raleigh,  the  seat  of 


52  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

government  for  the  State  of  North  Carolina.  He 
would  there  necessarily  come  in  contact  with  some 
of  the  leading  men  and  best  intellects  of  the  State, 
and  was,  therefore,  stimulated  to  avail  himself  of 
the  best  means  for  his  intellectual  improvement. 

He  was  successful  in  the  prosecution  of  his  pas- 
toral duties  in  his  new  charge,  and  secured  the 
friendship  and  good  opinions  of  the  people.  In 
the  course  of  this  winter  he  was  bereaved  of  one 
of  his  young  brothers,  Benjamin  E.  Eeid,  who 
died  of  pneumonia,  being  predisposed  to  con- 
sumption. He  was  a  sprightly  youth  of  about  ten 
years  old,  with  an  amiable  disposition  and  an 
affectionate  heart.  He  died  in  peace,  and  was 
taken  from  this  world  to  his  heavenly  home.  His 
mother's  health  was  rapidly  declining.  She  had 
already  unmistakable  symptoms  of  pulmonary 
consumption.  He  frequently  visited  her  and  gave 
her  the  most  affectionate  attentions  ;  he  loved  his 
mother  with  the  deepest  devotion. 

She  declined  rapidly  until  about  midsummer, 
when  her  eyes  were  closed  in  death  ;  she  sweetly 
slept  in  Jesus  ;  her  end  was  peaceful.  She  was 
faithful  in  all  the  relations  of  life  ;  she  was  an 
affectionate  wife,  a  kind  mother,  a  good  neighbor, 
and  a  devoted  Christian.  The  death  of  his  mother 
was  the  hardest  trial  he  had  been  called  to  pass 
through  in  all  his  bereavements.  Six  of  his 
dearest  friends  and  one  of  his  own   children  had 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  53 

died  in  the  course  of  eight  years.  Three  sisters, 
two  brothers  and  his  sainted  mother  had,  one 
after  another,  passed  away  in  so  short  a  space  of 
time  ;  he  felt  grieved,  indeed,  but  he  had  the  as- 
surance that  they  all  died  in  peace.  He  consoled 
himself,  that  while  he  had  fewer  ties  to  bind  his 
affections  to  earth,  he  had  more  cords  to  draw 
his  soul  to  heaven.  His  ecclesiastical  year  in 
Raleigh  was  a  success  ;  his  intercourse  with  the 
people  of  his  charge  was  pleasant — they  anticipa- 
ted his  wants,  and  supplied  them  promptly  ;  they 
gave  him  a  decent  support,  and  as  the  year  drew 
to  a  close  they  manifested  great  anxiety  for  him 
to  return  another  year,  and  this  anxiety  was 
mutual. 

The  Conference  met  this  year  in  the  city  of 
Wilmington.  It  was  a  pleasure  to  Mr.  Reid  to 
meet  his  brethren  again  in  Conference,  and  mingle 
again  with  the  members  of  his  former  charge. 
His  warm  heart  swelled  with  gratitude  to  God 
while  he  met  the  brethren  of  Wilmington.  He 
took  a  lively  interest  in  the  business  of  the  Con- 
ference, both  in  Committee  and  on  the  Conference 
floor.  This  was  a  delightful  session.  Our  last 
Conference  was  memorable  for  the  stirring  up  of 
strife  and  difficulties.  This  year  we  had  peace  and 
harmony.  Mr.  Reid  was  returned  to  the  City  of 
Raleigh  for  the  year  1856  to  take  charge  of  Eden- 
ton  Street  Church. 


54  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

Soon  after  the  adjournment  of  Conference  lie 
returned  to  his  charge,  and  entered  at  once  upon 
the  prosecution  of  his  duties  with  renewed 
energy.  His  popularity  continued  to  increase, 
and  he  was  frequently  called  upon  to  deliver  ad- 
dresses on  education  at  school  commencements,  and 
also  to  address  the  people  at  Temperance  and 
Masonic  celebrations.  He  had  already  reached 
a  high  degree  of  distinction  as  a  public  speaker. 

He  was  an  able  preacher,  a  good  pastor,  and  a 
wise  counsellor  ;  he  possessed  the  happy  art  of 
reconciling  difficulties  between  parties  at  variance, 
and  seldom  ever  failed,  in  his  administration  of 
discipline,  to  restore  the  delinquent  member  to 
the  confidence  of  the  Church.  Under  his  judi- 
cious management  the  Edenton  Street  Church 
prospered  both  financially  and  spiritually  ;  and 
he  had  a  stronger  hold  on  the  affections  of  the 
people  at  the  close  of  the  second  year  than  at  the 
first. 

The  North  Carolina  Conference  met  this  year  in 
the  town  of  Greensboro7.  The  session  was  one  of 
interest.  It  was  at  this  session  that  Trinity  Col- 
lege was  transferred  to  the  North  Carolina  Con- 
ference, to  be  managed  as  a  Church  institution. 
Rev.  Numa  F.  Reid  took  a  prominent  part  in 
transacting  the  business  of  the  Conference  ;  and 
he  was  appointed  to  take  charge  of  the  Greens- 
boro' Station  for  the  year  1857.     Soon  after  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  55 

close  of  Conference  he  removed  his  family  to  the 
town  of  Greensboro',  and  occupied  a  rented  house 
for  his  parsonage.  It  was  early  in  January  this 
year  that  the  great  snow  fell ;  it  was  a  terrible 
storm  in  which  a  great  many  persons  froze  to 
death.  This  was  soon  after  he  had  settled  his 
family  in  Greensboro',  and  he  no  doubt  injured 
his  health  by  walking  through  the  deep  snow, 
looking  after  some  of  the  destitute  members  of  his 
charge.  The  country  was  so  blockaded  by  snow 
for  several  weeks,  that  travelling  by  private  con- 
veyance was  impracticable.  As  the  spring  opened 
he  applied  himself  to  the  discharge  of  his  pastoral 
duties,  and  proved  to  be  a  great  blessing  to  the 
Methodist  congregation  in  Greensboro'.  At  this 
time  Greensboro'  Female  College  had  reached  the 
zenith  of  its  greatest  prosperity  and  usefulness; 
with  a  full  corps  of  professors  and  teachers,  under 
the  presidency  of  Eev.  T.  M.  Jones,  it  was  well 
patronized.  Rev.  N.  F.  Reid  labored  faithfully 
this  year  to  build  up  Christianity  and  Methodism 
in  Greensboro'.  By  a  faithful  discharge  of  all  his 
duties,  both  in  the  pulpit  and  in  the  families  of 
his  charge,  he  proved  himself  to  be  a  workman 
in  his  Master's  vineyard.  He  also  labored  faith- 
fully to  build  up  the  educational  interests  of  the 
Church.  No  pastor  had  ever  before  him  taken  so 
much  interest  in  the  faculty  and  the  pupils  of 
Greensboro'  Female  College.      The  College  com- 


56  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

munity  and  the  Methodist  congregation  in  Greens- 
boro' both  ardently  desired  his  return  another 
year,  but  they  were  to  be  disappointed. 

The  ensuing  Conference  was  held  in  the  town 
of  Goldsboro',  N.  0.,  and  it  was  a  session  of  con- 
siderable excitement  and  interest,  on  account  of 
some  difficulties  which  had  agitated  the  Conference 
for  several  years.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  had 
now  become  an  active  and  influential  member,  and 
took  a  deep  interest  in  the  business  of  the  Confer- 
ence ;  and  was  elected  one  of  the  delegates  to  the 
General  Conference  to  be  held  the  next  May  in 
Nashville,  Tenn. 

At  this  session  he  was  appointed  by  Bishop 
Pierce  Presiding  Elder  of  the  Salisbury  District ; 
and  now  he  was  to  assume  new  responsibilities, 
but  his  resources  were  equal  to  the  emergency  ;  he 
possessed  unusual  ability  as  a  preacher,  and  also 
extraordinary  executive  talents. 

Soon  after  Conference  adjourned  he  moved  his 
family  to  the  district  parsonage  at  Olin,  pursuant 
to  entering  upon  the  discharge  of  his  duties  in  his 
new  and  responsible  position.  The  following  is 
an  extract  from  the  first  entry  in  his  Diary: 
"Friday,  January  1st,  1858. — This  morning  I 
went  from  Olin  to  Salisbury  to  hold  the  first  quar- 
terly meeting  on  the  District.  Spent  the  night  at 
Brother  Overman's  with  brother  P.  S.  Moran, 
Station  preacher.     Saturday,  2d,  I  preached,  and, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  57 

after  preaching,  held  my  first  Quarterly  Confer- 
ence ;  preached  again  Sunday  morning,  adminis- 
tered the  Sacrament  and  preached  again  at  night ; 
house  crowded  ;  had  a  profitable  time."  He  thus 
commenced  his  work  as  Presiding  Elder  of  Salis- 
bury District,  His  journal  shows  that  he  closed 
his  first  round  on  his  District  on  the  21st  of  March — 
having  travelled  several  hundred  miles,  and  held 
eleven  quarterly  meetings,  since  the  first  of  Janu- 
ary. He  generally  preached  three  times,  held 
quarterly  Conference,  and  administered  the  Sacra- 
ment, at  each  quarterly  meeting.  His  congrega- 
tions were  large,  and  his  preaching  was  well  cal- 
culated to  edify  Christians  and  awaken  sinners. 
After  performing  nearly  a  half  round  more  on  his 
District,  he  set  out  in  the  latter  part  of  April  for 
the  General  Conference,  which  was  to  convene  in 
Nashville,  Tenn.,  on  the  first  day  of  May.  He 
went  by  the  way  of  Wentworth  and  Greensboro', 
where  he  spent  a  few  pleasant  clays  with  his  breth- 
ren and  friends.  In  company  with  several  other 
delegates  he  took  the  cars  for  the  seat  of  the  Gen- 
eral Conference,  and  reached  the  city  of  Nash- 
ville in  time  to  answer  to  his  name  at  the  open- 
ing session  of  the  Conference.  He  had  the  pleas- 
ure of  meeting  many  of  the  leading  ministers  of 
the  Church,  and  also  of  uniting  with  them  in  the 
transaction  of  the  business,  in  the  highest  ecclesi- 
astical convocation  of  the  Church,   and  its  onlv 


58  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

legislative  body.  He  soon  became  acquainted 
with  Methodist  polity  and  legislation,  and  was  an 
efficient  member  of  the  Conference.  He  was  con- 
servative in  his  views  of  Methodism,  and,  conse- 
quently, opposed  whatever  had  a  tendency  to  inno- 
vation, or  a  change  of  the  organic  law  of  the 
Church.  His  discriminating  mind,  his  sound  heart, 
and  his  thorough  knowledge  of  Methodist  juris- 
prudence, rendered  him  a  safe  legislator  for  the 
denomination.  The  superior  intelligence  of  the 
members  of  the  General  Conference,  and  the  great 
harmony  that  prevailed  among  them  during  the 
session,  increased  his  devotion  to  Methodism,  and 
inspired  him  with  confidence  in  its  future  success. 
He  felt  the  deepest  interest  in  all  the  measures 
that  passed  in  review  before  the  Conference  for 
the  good  of  the  Church. 

At  the  close  of  the  General  Conference  he  re- 
turned to  his  work  on  his  District,  and,  after  filling 
his  appointments  through  the  month  of  June,  he 
went  from  a  quarterly  meeting  at  Love's  Church 
on  Forsythe  Circuit,  on  the  fourth  day  of  July,  to 
Greensboro',  on  his  way  to  Louisburg,  to  visit  his 
sick  brother,  who  had  been  lingering  for  some  time 
with  pulmonary  consumption.  He  took  the  train 
at  five  o'clock  at  Greensboro'  and  reached  Ea- 
leigh  at  nine  o'clock,  and  was  there  met  by  his 
father  and  his  two  brothers,  and  learned  from 
them  that  his  brother,  Samuel  Reid,  had  died  in 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  59 

great  peace  on  the  27th  of  June.  He  was  thus 
bereaved  of  another  brother.  This  brother  was  a 
beautiful,  interesting  youth ;  his  education  was  in 
a  state  of  forwardness,  ready  to  enter  college. 
He  possessed  fine  gifts,  and  was  an  excellent  de- 
claimer  for  one  of  his  age ;  but  notwithstanding 
his  good  promise,  he  was  cut  down  in  the  bloom 
of  youth  before  he  had  passed  the  middle  of  his 
teens.  This  shock  fell  heavily  upon  Mr.  Reid — 
to  be  bereaved  of  this  dear  brother,  so  lovely 
and  so  promising.  How  sad  to  lose  in  so  short  a 
time  six  out  of  eight  brothers  and  sisters.  After 
spending  a  few  days  with  his  aged  father  and  his 
two  young  brothers,  he  returned  to  his  District, 
and  pursued  his  appointments,  holding  a  quarterly 
meeting  ev^ry  week  until  the  first  week  in  August, 
when  his  camp  meeting  appointments  commenced. 
He  held  a  camp  meeting  nearly  every  week  through 
August,  September,  and  half  through  October. 
These  meetings  were  a  heavy  draft  upon  his  ph}"- 
sical  strength ;  preaching  in  the  open  air  by  day 
and  night,  losing  sleep,  and  making  long  rides 
over  rough  mountain  roads,  had  a  deleterious 
effect  upon  his  slender  frame  and  feeble  constitu- 
tion. But  the  Lord  was  with  him,  and  gave  him 
many  seals  to  his  ministry. 

He  performed  a  faithful  year's  work,  and  only 
lost  one  appointment  through  the  year  where  he 
was  expected,  and  that  one  he  failed  to  reach  in 


60  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

consequence  of  a  heavy  snow  storm  which  con- 
tinued all  day  and  through  the  night,  The  N.  C. 
Annual  Conference  met  this  year  (1858)  in  the 
city  of  Newbern,  and  after  rather  an  exciting  ses- 
sion, in  which  he  took  an  active  part,  he  received 
his  appointment  the  second  time  as  Presiding  El- 
der on  Salisbury  District  for  the  year  1859. 

Soon  after  Conference  adjourned  he  returned  to 
his  parsonage  home,  at  Olin,  to  spend  a  short 
time  with  his  family  in  the  drear  cold  months  of 
December  and  January,  in  order  to  recruit  his 
health  and  improve  his  mind  for  the  work  of 
another  year.  He  makes  the  following  entry  in 
his  diary  on  the  31st  of  December:  "This  is  the 
last  day  of  1858  ;  it  is  quite  rainy  and  gloomy.  I 
thank  the  Lord  that  he  has  brought  me,  under 
circumstances  of  so  much  mercy,  to  see  the  close 
of  another  }Tear.  I  am  now  in  my  thirty-fourth 
year,  fifteen  years  in  the  Church,  and  have  been 
trying  to  preach  eleven  years.  As  I  grow  older, 
I  want  to  grow  in  grace.  At  the  close  of  this, 
and  at  the  beginning  of  another  year,  I  consecrate 
myself  afresh  to  God."  On  the  first  day  of  Jan- 
uary, 1859,  we  find  the  following  entry  in  his 
Diary:  "This  is  a  bright  and  pleasant  day. 
May  the  Lord  bless  me  this  year  for  Jesus'  sake ; 
make  me  useful,  enable  me  to  grow  better,  and 
wiser,  and  preserve  my  healih  and  life  through 
this  year." 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  61 

He  commenced  to  hold  his  quarterly  meetings 
this  year  on  the  second  Sabbath  in  January,  and 
filled  his  appointments  promptly  throughout  the 
year.  His  labors  were  arduous  for  one  of  so 
frail  a  constitution  ;  long  rides,  rough  roads, 
holding  camp  meetings  through  the  months  of 
August,  September  and  October  ;  preaching  day 
and  night  in  the  open  air. 

In  addition  to  his  District  work,  he  was  a 
trustee  of  Trinity  College,  and  of  Greensboro' 
Female  College,  which  called  him  away  from 
his  District  to  attend  the  meetings  of  the  board 
and  the  annual  commencements.  He  accom- 
plished his  year's  work,  and  had  the  satisfaction 
to  see  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord  prosper  in  his 
hands.  He  had  many  seals  to  his  ministry  this 
year  on  Salisbury  District. 

The  North  Carolina  Conference  held  its  annual 
meeting  in  the  town  of  Beaufort,  on  the  sea 
board.  He  took  the  train  in  Salisbury,  and 
reached  the  seat  of  Conference  next  day  in  the 
afternoon.  He  acted  a  conspicuous  part  in  the 
sessions  of  Conference.  In  addition  to  his  duties 
as  Presiding  Elder,  he  was  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Education,  and  wrote  the  report  em- 
bracing the  educational  interests  of  the  Church, 
and  presented  it  to  the  Conference.  He  was  this 
year  appointed  Presiding  Elder  on  Greensboro' 
District.     This  appointment  was  better  adapted 


62  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

to  his  delicate  constitution,  and  more  convenient 
to  his  work  as  trustee  of  the  Colleges. 

He  left  the  seat  of  Conference  on  the  22d  of 
December — the  Conference  having  adjourned  on 
the  previous  night — and  went  directly  to  Went- 
worth,  where  he  had  left  his  family,  and  com- 
menced his  arrangements  for  the  ensuing  year. 
He  rented  a  house  in  Wentworth,  where  he  set- 
tled his  family,  so  as  to  be  in  readiness  for  his 
work  on  the  District.  We  find  the  following 
entry  in  his  journal  on  the  last  day  of  the  year 
1859:  "The  year  has  passed  away.  God  has 
been  good  to  me  this  year.  I  have  done  but 
little  for  Him  ;  my  sins  are  many,  yet  I  look  to 
Jesus  for  pardon.  '  Bless  the  Lord,  0  !  my  soul, 
and  all  that  is  within  me,  bless  His  holy  name.'  " 
January  1st,  he  makes  the  following  entry:  "I 
consecrate  myself  afresh  to  God  ;  by  his  grace,  I 
acknowledge  my  sins.  I  am  thankful  for  God's 
great  mercies  to  me.  I  pray  that  he  may  pre- 
serve me  through  another  year,  and  help  me  to 
grow  wiser  and  better,  and  make  me  more  use- 
ful." On  the  7th  of  January  he  commenced  his 
first  round  on  his  new  District ;  and  held  his  first 
quarterly  meeting  in  Greensboro'.  He  was 
kindly  received  by  the  people  throughout  the 
District,  and  had  before  him  an  interesting  field 
for  usefulness  ;  and  he  entered  upon  his  work 
with  a  hearty  good  will.     This  proved  to  be  one 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  63 

of  the  most  successful  years  of  his  ministry  ;  his 
preaching  was  in  great  power  and  demonstration 
of  the  spirit.  It  was  a  year  of  great  prosperity 
on  the  District,  and  in  a  number  of  the  charges 
there  were  overwhelming  revivals  of  religion,  and 
many  souls  were  gathered  into  the  fold  of  Christ. 
He  was  an  efficient  Presiding  Elder ;  he  was 
wise  in  council,  and  attended  to  all  the  interests 
of  the  Church  in  his  District,  and  rendered  timely 
aid  in  raising  the  subscription  to  build  the  Meth- 
odist church  in  Thomasville. 

On  the  22d  of  July,  1860,  at  the  quarterly 
meeting  for  the  Davidson  Circuit  at  Ebenezer, 
three  miles  north  of  Lexington,  he  dedicated  the 
new  house  of  worship,  and  made  the  following 
entry  in  his  journal  :  "I  preached  at  11  o'clock 
and  dedicated  a  new  house  of  worship.  The 
warmest  day  I  ever  tried  to  preach.  Administered 
the  sacrament,  and  preached  again  at  night." 
The  year  passed  away  pleasantly  to  him  ;  he  was 
abundant  in  labors,  had  long  rides,  preached 
often,  and  with  great  earnestness  and  power  ; 
and  his  labor  of  love  in  the  Lord  was  not  in 
vain  ;  it  was  greatly  blessed  in  the  building  up 
of  the  Church  in  his  charge. 

This  year  was  famous  in  the  history  of  the 
country  for  political  strife,  the  clashing  interests 
of  different  sections  of  the  States  already  began 
to  threaten  the  dissolution  of  the  Federal  Union. 


64  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

Mr.  Reid,  and  the  ministers  of  the  North  Carolina 
Conference,  deported  themselves  with  propriety 
and  discretion  ;  they  kept  themselves  aloof  from 
politics,  and  applied  themselves  to  their  calling 
as  ministers  of  Christ,  and  the  work  of  saving 
souls.  At  the  close  of  this  ecclesiastical  year 
the  North  Carolina  Conference  held  its  annual 
session  in  the  town  of  Salisbury.  There  was 
present  a  full  attendance  of  the  members,  and 
the  venerable  Bishop  Paine  presided.  Mr.  Peid 
contributed  his  full  share  of  labor  in  carrying 
through  the  business  of  the  Conference,  and  was 
again  appointed  Presiding  Elder  of  Greensboro' 
District. 

After  the  adjournment  of  Conference  he  re- 
turned to  his  home  at  Wentworth,  to  spend  a 
few  da}rs  with  his  family,  and  to  rest  and  prepare 
for  another  year's  work.  On  Sunday  the  16th  of 
December,  he  made  the  following  entry  in  his 
diar}r  :  "I  spend  this  Sabbath  at  home;  have 
not  spent  a  Sabbath  at  home  since  last  winter." 

He  commenced  holding  quarterly  meetings 
for  his  second  year  on  Greensboro'  District,  on 
the  22d  of  December,  and  on  the  31st  made  the 
following  entry  in  his  journal :  "This  is  the  last 
day  of  the  year  1860.  The  Lord  has  been  gra- 
cious and  good  to  me  this  year.  I  mourn  over 
my  sins  and  shortcomings.  I  confess  them  and 
pray  the  good  Lord  to  pardon  me."     Last  year 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  65 

Mr.  Reid  was  visited  with  a  sad  dispensation  of 
Providence  in  the  death  of  his  brother,  Richard 
Reid.  He  died  with  consumption.  He  was  a 
Christian,  and  died  in  peace  ;  he  left  behind  him 
a  young  widow  to  mourn  her  loss,  but  not  as 
those  who  have  no  hope,  for  her  loss  was  his 
infinite  gain. 

Out  of  a  family  of  six  brothers  and  three  sis- 
ters seven  are  dead  —  Rev.  N.  F.  Reid,  and  his 
youngest  brother,  Charles  A.  Reid,  only  survive. 
How  mysterious  are  the  providences  of  God. 
They  are  inscrutable.  He  saith,  "What  I  do 
now  ye  know  not,  but  ye  shall  know  hereafter." 
Mr.  Reid  addressed  himself  to  his  work  this  year 
with  zeal,  and  energy. 

The  political  strife  which  had  agitated  the 
country  for  nearty  two  years,  had  already  cul- 
minated, and  the  result  wras  civil  war  between 
the  North  and  the  South,  of  our  own  beloved 
country.  The  minds  of  our  people  were  dis- 
tracted with  the  confusion  and  tumult  of  war. 
The  ministers  of  the  gospel  continued  to  fill  their 
various  charges,  except  a  few  of  them  who  had 
gone  as  chaplains  to  the  army.  Many  of  the 
literary  institutions  of  the  country  were  closed, 
and  the  business  of  the  country  was  very  much 
interrupted.  The  growing  of  cotton  and  tobacco 
in  the  South  was  soon  to  be  dispensed  with,  and 
great  efforts  were  put  forth  to  raise  supplies  for 

4* 


66  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

the  array  aiid  for  the  people  at  home.  Thou- 
sands upon  thousands  of  the  best  able  bodied 
men  had  already  volunteered  and  gone  into  the 
army,  to  fall  hy  the  hands  of  an  unnatural  enemy, 
or  to  fall  victims  to  disease.  The  distress  and 
the  ruin  brought  upon  our  country  was  unparal- 
leled in  its  history.  The  public  mind  was  agi- 
tated to  an  unusual  degree  of  restlessness. 

The  year  1861,  Mr.  Reicl's  second  year  on 
Greensboro'  District,  was  one  of  great  excite- 
ment throughout  the  country.  The  civil  war  was 
now  fully  inaugurated ;  it  was  a  time  of  confusion 
and  strife  ;  but  he  still  continued  to  prosecute 
his  work  on  Greensboro'  District,  and  constantry 
devoted  himself  to  the  cause  of  God.  He  won 
the  hearts  ol  the  people,  until  he  was  now  one  of 
the  most  influential  preachers  of  his  denomination 
in  the  State.  This  year  the  North  Carolina  Con- 
ference was  held  in  the  town  of  Louisburg  ;  the 
session  was  short,  the  business  was  transacted 
with  great  despatch.  It  was  the  year  to  elect 
delegates  to  the  General  Conference  ;  and  he 
was  elected  a  delegate  on  the  first  ballot  at  the 
head  of  the  delegation,  having  received  every 
vote  polled,  except  one.  He  had  reached  the 
summit  of  popularity  among  the  members  of  the 
Conference.  All  hough  he  was  the  youngest  mem- 
ber elected  to  the  General  Conference,  he  led  the 
delegation.     His  great  popularity  in  the  Confer- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  67 

ence  was  the  result  of  his  superior  talents,  his 
Christian  politeness,  his  deep  piety,  his  sterling 
integrity,  and  his  constantly  hiding  himself  be- 
hind the  Cross  of  Christ.  His  leading  purpose 
was  to  get  good  and  to  do  good.  He  was  ap- 
pointed again  Presiding  Elder  on  the  Greens- 
boro' District.  He  returned  to  his  charge  after 
Conference,  and  in  due  time  commenced  his  first 
round  of  quarterly  meeting  appointments.  The 
war  continued  to  rage  with  unabated  fury,  and  a 
great  mairf  more  men  were  compelled  to  go  into 
the  army  as  soldiers.  The  Southern  ports  were 
so  blockaded  that  the  Southern  people  had  but 
very  little  correspondence  with  the  world  out- 
side. Our  missionaries  in  China  were  so  cut  off 
from  the  Church  at  home  that  it  could  not  com- 
municate with  them.  And  some  portions  of  the 
Southern  States  were  overrun  by  the  enem}r,  so 
that  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  South  could  not  hold  its 
quadrennial  meeting  agreeable  to  appointment. 
The  ministers,  however,  were  attentive  to  their 
work,  in  their  several  circuits  and  stations,  and 
none  more  so  than  Mr.  Reid,  the  Presiding  Elder 
of  Greensboro'  District.  He  filled  all  his  ap- 
pointments promptly,  and  labored  with  great 
acceptability  among  the  ministers  and  people  of 
his  charge.  He  sympathized  with  the  poor  fam- 
ilies of  the  absent  soldiers,   and   did   all   in  his 


68  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

power  to  alleviate  their  sufferings.  He  labored 
fervently  in  word  and  doctrine,  and  did  not 
shrink  from  making  sacrifices  for  the  cause  of 
God.  He  had  the  worth  of  souls  at  heart,  and 
was  one  of  the  most  efficient  ministers  in  the 
Church.  Through  all  the  perilous  times  of  the 
war  his  devotion  and  zeal  to  the  cause  of  his 
Divine  Master  showed  no  abatement ;  he  moved 
steadily  on  in  the  pathway  of  duty,  fulfilling  his 
ministry  until  the  close  of  the  Conference  year. 
By  his  wise  counsel  he  made  himself  useful  in 
settling  difficulties  which  often  sprang  up  among 
his  neighbors,  and  sometimes  among  members  of 
the  Church.  He  was  famous  as  a  peacemaker  ; 
he  has  often  been  known  to  take  hold  of  parties 
at  variance,  and  by  his  sagacity  and  wisdom,  so 
manage  as  to  reconcile  them  to  each  other,  and 
thereby  entitle  himself  to  the  blessing  of  the 
peacemaker.  He  was  a  man  of  extraordinary 
force  of  character. 

The  North  Carolina  Conference  met  in  the 
year  1862  in  the  city  of  Raleigh.  The  business 
was  transacted  rapidly,  as  it  was  thought  to  be 
impracticable  to  have  the  members  of  the  Con- 
ference quartered  on  any  community  any  longer 
than  the  shortest  time  in  which  the  business 
could  be  disposed  of.  Mr.  Eeid  was  appointed 
for  the  fourth  year  Presiding  Elder  on  Greens- 
boro' District.     He  returned  to  his  work  in  due 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  69 

time,  and  filled  his  regular  quarterly  meeting  ap- 
pointments, and  helped  the  preachers  in  their 
work  whenever  it  was  practicable  for  him  to  do 
so  ;  he  wielded  a  powerful  influence  for  good,  and 
could  always  command  large  congregations.  He 
discharged  his  duties  faithfully,  and  as  his  fourth 
year  on  the  District  was  approaching  its  close 
the  people  began  to  regret  being  separated  from 
him. 

The  ensuing  session  of  the  Conference  was  held 
in  the  town  of  Greensboro',  in  1863.  The  war 
was  still  raging,  and  the  session  was  short.  Mr. 
Reid  was  an  active  member  of  this  Conference. 
He  was  appointed  Presiding  Elder  on  the  Raleigh 
District.  This  was  an  interesting  appointment 
for  him  ;  it  embraced  the  city  of  Raleigh,  where 
he  had  spent  two  years  of  his  ministry,  and  Tar 
River  Circuit,  where  his  father  resided,  and  sev- 
eral other  interesting  places.  He  spent  a  short 
time  with  his  family  in  Wentworth  before  enter- 
ing upon  the  discharge  of  his  duties  in  this  new 
field.  His  family  still  continued  to  live  in  the 
town  of  Wentworth,  but  he  was  prompt  to  fill  his 
appointments  and  did  his  work  well.  He  ex- 
erted a  salutary  influence  for  good  all  over  the 
District ;  his  ministry  was  listened  to  by  all 
classes  of  people  with  the  profoundest  interest; 
the  intellectual  and  educated,  the  ignorant  and 
the  illiterate,  the  young  and  the  old,  the  white 


70  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

and  the  colored,  were  all  edified  and  delighted 
with  his  ministry  ;  few  ministers  of  the  gospel 
could  present  truth  with  the  clearness  and  force 
that  he  could,  and  then  there  was  an  unction  and 
pathos  in  his  preaching  that  seldom  failed  to  take 
hold  of  the  hearts  of  his  hearers.  He  was  an 
able  expounder  of  God's  word,  and  in  his  pulpit 
ministrations  always  had  something  new  and  at- 
tractive. He  was  an  able  minister  of  Jesus 
Christ,  "rightly  dividing  the  words  of  truth,  giv- 
ing to  each  one  his  portion  in  due  season."  He 
never  seemed  to  aim  at  any  display  of  language, 
but  generally  clothed  great  thoughts  with  the 
simplest  words  ;  his  eloquence  was  not  a  nourish 
of  beautiful  words  and  elegant  language,  but  it 
was  the  eloquence  of  the  soul.  He  always  im- 
pressed the  minds  and  hearts  of  his  hearers  with 
the  greatness  of  his  theme.  His  preaching  was 
not  of  the  character  to  tickle  the  fancy,  but  to 
affect  the  heart ;  it  was  famous  to  build  up  and 
establish  believers  in  the  doctrines  of  Christ.  He 
directed  the  weak  in  faith  to  the  Cross  of  Christ, 
and  His  power  to  save.  While  his  ministry  was 
salutary  to  encourage  and  build  up  believers 
and  comfort  the  mourners  in  Zion,  he  could  also 
show  the  sinner  the  exceeding  sinfulness  of  sin, 
and  the  base  ingratitude  of  the  carnal  mind,  and 
the  righteousness  and  the  justice  of  G-od  in  the 
punishment    of    the    perseveringly    impenitent. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  71 

While  he  excelled  as  a  pulpit  orator,  he  was 
equally  successful  as  a  platform  speaker  and  a 
debater.  He  generally  took  a  reasonable,  com- 
mon sense  view,  and  met  his  antagonist  fairly 
and  treated  him  respectfully,  not  with  ridicule, 
but  with  fair  argument  and  truth  ;  nor  did  he 
allow  his  mind  to  be  biased,  but  always  acknow- 
ledged the  truth  wherever  he  saw  it. 

At  the  Greensboro'  Conference  Mr.  Reid  was 
placed  on  two  important  committees — one  on  the 
army,  and  the  other  on  education.  When  the 
Committee  on  Education  presented  their  report, 
after  considerable  discussions,  that  part  of  the 
report  referring  to  Trinity  College  was  referred 
to  a  special  committee,  consisting  of  B.  Craven, 
N.  F.  Reid  and  N.  H.  D.  Wilson.  On  a  motion 
to  adopt  the  report  of  this  special  committee  a 
very  interesting  debate  was  sprung  upon  the 
Conference.  The  question  in  debate  was  argued 
by  some  of  the  ablest  debaters  of  the  Conference, 
and  in  the  course  of  this  debate  Mr.  Reid  made 
an  overwhelming  speech  in  vindication  of  Trinity 
College,  which  was  regarded  by  a  great  many  of 
the  spectators  present  as  one  of  the  ablest  efforts 
of  his  life.  This  speech  is  still  remembered  by 
maii}^  of  the  citizens  in  the  vicinity  of  Greens- 
boro'. 

The  war  raged  vehemently  this  year.  All  the 
available  forces  of  the  South  were  brought  into 


72  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

service.  The  ministers  had  a  great  deal  of 
work  to  perform,  looking  after  their  flocks  at 
home,  while  many  of  them  had  gone  as  chaplains 
to  the  arm}T.  The  pastors  looked  after  the 
Church  through  all  these  dark  times  of  strife, 
and  no  one  was  more  active  and  faithful  than  Mr. 
Eeid  in  looking  after  and  administering  to  the  dis- 
tressed families  of  the  absent  soldiers.  At  the 
close  of  this  year  the  North  Carolina  Conference 
met  in  the  town  of  Mocksville,  N.  C.  Bishop 
Early,  who,  agreeable  to  the  Episcopal  plan  of 
visitation,  was  to  preside  over  the  North  Caro- 
lina Conference  this  }Tear,  was  confined  in  Lynch- 
burg, Ya.,  with  sickness,  and  appointed  Rev.  D. 
B.  Nicholson  to  preside  over  the  Conference. 
The  business  of  the  session  was  transacted  with 
care  and  deliberation.  Mr.  Reid  was  an  active 
member  of  the  body  and  bore  a  conspicuous  part 
in  the  transaction  of  its  business.  He  was  returned 
to  Raleigh  District  as  the  Presiding  Elder  for  the 
year  1865. 

Mr.  Reid  filled  one  round  of  appointments  on 
his  District  when  the  Federal  army  of  the  West 
entered  North  Carolina ;  the  last  considerable 
battle  was  fought  at  Bentonsville.  The  Federal 
army  penetrated  the  interior  of  the  State,  and  all 
was  confusion  for  six  or  eight  weeks,  so  that  the 
ministers  did  not  regularly  attend  their  appoint- 
ments.    The  surrender  of  Johnston's  army  took 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  73 

place  in  April,  1865,  which  ended  the  war.  As 
soon  as  practicable  after  the  surrender,  Mr.  Reid 
resumed  his  ministry  on  his  District,  and  con- 
tinued to  prosecute  his  work  faithfully  to  the  end 
of  the  year.  In  the  course  of  the  winter  he  re- 
moved his  family  and  settled  them  in  Thomas- 
ville,  having  purchased  property  there.  The 
North  Carolina  Conference  was  held  this  year  in 
the  city  of  Raleigh.  Mr.  Reid  was  appointed 
again  to  the  Raleigh  District  as  Presiding  Elder 
for  the  year  1866.  At  this  Conference  there  was 
an  election  held  for  seven  delegates  to  attend  the 
General  Conference,  and  Mr.  Reid  again  received 
the  highest  vote — having  received  all  the  votes 
cast  except  three.  This  shows  how  highly  he 
was  esteemed  by  his  brethren  of  the  Conference. 
He  went  to  his  District  soon  after  the  adjourn- 
ment of  Conference,  and  filled  one  round  of  ap- 
pointments prior  to  the  General  Conference, 
which  met  in  the  city  of  New  Orleans  the  first 
of  April.  He  took  his  seat  in  the  General  Con- 
ference at  the  opening  of  the  session,  but  he  was 
suffering  from  fatigue,  and  from  the  effects  of 
cold  contracted  on  his  journey.  He  was  also 
affected  by  the  humidity  of  the  atmosphere  in 
New  Orleans,  and  grew  worse,  until  he  consid- 
ered himself  quite  sick,  and  after  the  first  week 
obtained  leave  of  absence  and  returned  home. 
On  reaching  his  native  climate  he  soon  began  to 


74  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

improve,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks  he  had 
entirely  recovered  his  health.  At  the  Annual 
Commencement  of  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina at  Chapel  Hill,  this  year,  the  Academic 
Senate  conferred  upon  Mr.  Reid  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Divinity,  and  perhaps  they  never 
conferred  this  degree  on  one  better  qualified  to 
receive  it.  Dr.  Reid  passed  the  remainder  of 
the  3rear — 1866 — in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of 
the  District. 

The  Annual  Conference  was  held  this  year  in 
the  town  of  Fayette ville,  N".  C.  The  writer  was 
not  in  attendance  at  this  Conference,  on  account  of 
affliction — the  only  one  he  has  failed  to  attend 
since  he  has  been  a  member.  Dr.  Reid  often  spoke 
of  this  Conference  as  the  most  pleasant  aud  the 
most  profitable  one  that  he  had  ever  attended. 
He  was  now  in  the  midst  of  his  useful  career  ; 
his  influence  in  the  Church  and  among  the  people 
had  reached  the  culminating  point.  He  was 
doing  more  for  his  Church  and  for  the  cause  of 
education  than  any  other  man  within  the  bounds 
of  the  North  Carolina  Conference.  He  was  ap- 
pointed Presiding  Elder  on  Greensboro'  District. 
This  appointment  was  given  him  as  an  accommo- 
dation, as  he  was  living  in  the  midst  of  this 
District,  and  the  people  in  it  would  prefer  him  to 
any  other  man.  He  commenced  his  work  early 
this    year,    and   attended    to   every    part    of   it 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  75 

promptly.  He  was  exceedingly  anxious  to  see 
the  work  of  rebuilding  G-reensboro'  Female  Col- 
lege  commenced,  and  continued  to  work  ear- 
nestly until  he  got  a  plan  devised  and  inaugu- 
rated for  the  completion  of  the  building. 

At  the  end  of  the  year  1867  the  North  Caro- 
lina Conference  held  its  annual  session  in  the  city 
of  Wilmington.  This  was  an  interesting  Confer- 
ence. Dr.  Reid  was  reappointed  Presiding 
Elder  of  G-reensboro'  District.  He  prosecuted 
his  labors  successfully.  The  whole  District  was 
visited  with  a  gracious  revival  of  religion,  and 
the  Presiding  Elder  exerted  a  good  and  salutary 
influence  to  promote  this  glorious  revival,  and 
many  souls  were  added  to  the  Lord  this  year 
within  the  bounds  of  his  District.  The  District 
Conference  system  was  now  fully  inaugurated  in 
our  bounds,  and  Dr.  Reid  took  a  deep  interest  in 
its  success.  This  year  his  District  was  visited 
by  Bishop  Pierce,  who  preached  the  commence- 
ment sermon  at  Trinity  College,  and  preached 
also  at  Thomasville,  Winston,  Germanton,  Madi- 
son, and  held  the  District  Conference  at  Leaks- 
ville.  Dr.  Reid  was  a  devoted  friend  and  an 
admirer  of  the  Bishop.  This  he  regarded  as  one 
of  the  most  pleasant  years  of  his  ministry  ;  it 
was  truly  a  success.  The  next  Annual  Confer- 
ence was  held  in  the  town  of  Statesville,  N.  C; 
Bishop  Wightman  presided.      There  were  pres- 


76  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

ent  at  this  Conference  several  distinguished  vis- 
itors. It  was  a  pleasant  time  to  Dr.  Reid,  and 
he  performed  his  full  share  of  work  in  transacting 
the  Conference  business.  He  was  appointed  to 
Greensboro'  District  for  1869.  He  commenced 
his  work  in  due  time  and  continued  to  perforin  it 
with  an  eye  single  to  the  glory  of  God.  This 
year  the  District  Conference  was  held  in  the 
town  of  Thomasville,  where  Dr.  Reid  resided. 
There  was  a  full  attendance  of  members,  and  he 
presided  over  the  Conference  with  great  ability, 
to  the  edification  and  satisfaction  of  all.  The  in- 
terests of  the  Church  in  his  District  were  care- 
fully considered,  and  an  hour  of  the  Conference 
was  devoted  to  the  interest  of  Greensboro'  Fe- 
male College.  He  had  undertaken  to  raise  ten 
thousand  dollars  to  rebuild  it.  He  pleaded  its 
cause  with  earnest  eloquence,  and  continued  so 
to  do  on  all  suitable  occasions.  In  the  course  of 
this  summer  he  and  the  writer  attended  the 
Fayetteville  District  Conference  at  Oak  Grove, 
in  Randolph  County,  where  he  was  received  as  a 
distinguished  visitor,  and  contributed  greatly  to 
the  interest  of  the  Conference  ;  but,  on  returning 
home  he  found  his  wife  laboring  under  a  severe 
affliction  of  the  head,  and  had  nearly  lost  the 
sight  of  both  of  her  eyes.  He  watched  by  her 
sick  couch  with  the  tenderest  regard  for  several 
months,    until    he    considered    her    recoverv    as 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  77 

almost  certain — she  had  partially  recovered  her 
sight;  but,  alas!  his  hopes  were  only  to  be  dis- 
appointed. She  suddenly  grew  worse,  and  in 
her  severe  paroxysms  her  mind  became  insane, 
and  after  lingering  two  or  three  days  she  died, 
unexpectedly  to  her  friends.  She  was  a  professor 
of  religion,  and  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  South.  Her  sufferings  had  been 
severe,  but  now  she  rests  from  all  her  afflictions 
and  troubles,  "where  sickness  and  sorrow,  pain 
and  death,  are  felt  and  feared  no  more."  Her 
funeral  was  preached  by  the  Eev.  Dr.  Craven, 
and  her  mortal  remains  were  committed  to  the 
earth  in  the  cemetery  in  Thomasville,  but,  since 
the  death  of  Dr.  Reid  she  has  been  disinterred 
and  removed  to  Wentworth,  and  buried  by  the 
side  of  her  husband,  in  the  grave  yard  at  the 
Methodist  Church.  Of  all  the  afflictive  provi- 
dences which  had  come  upon  Dr.  Reid,  the  death 
of  his  wife  was  the  severest.  His  frail  system 
was  nearly  prostrated  b}T  the  shock.  The  blow 
was  almost  too  heavy  for  him,  but  the  good  Lord 
who  can  temper  the  wind  to  the  shorn  lamb,  had 
compassion  upon  him,  and  showed  him  that  His 
grace  was  sufficient  for  him.  He  found  Him  to 
be  a  present  help  in  time  of  need.  After  this 
ordeal  of  God's  afflictive  providence  he  was  more 
than  ever  devoted  to  the  work  of  the  ministry. 
He  felt  less  attached  to  earth,  and  his  soul  was 


to  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

drawn  nearer  to  his  heavenly  Father.  As  soon 
as  he  rallied  from  the  affliction  which  had  thus 
come  upon  him,  he  addressed  himself  to  the  work 
of  the  ministry  with  unabated  ardor. 

At  the  close  of  this  year  the  Annual  Confer- 
ence was  held  in  the  city  of  Newbern ;  Bishop 
Doggett  presided.  Among  the  distinguished  vis- 
itors at  this  session  were  Dr.  Bedford,  the  Book 
Agent,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Munsey.  Dr.  Reid  was 
domiciled  with  these  brethren,  and  spent  his  time 
most  pleasant!}7.  On  Sabbath  afternoon,  at  this 
Conference,  he  delivered  a  Sabbath  school  ad- 
dress, which  was  well  conceived  and  happily 
prepared  for  the  occasion.  It  was  an  able  pro- 
duction. Dr.  Reid  was  again  elected  a  delegate 
to  the  General  Conference  by  the  highest  vote. 
The  whole  number  of  votes  cast  was  eighty-live, 
and  he  received  eighty.  He  had  led  the  delega- 
tion at  three  successive  quadrennial  elections,  re- 
ceiving all  the  votes  cast  the  first  time  except 
one,  all  the  second  time  except  three,  and  all  the 
third  time  except  five,  having  thus  received 
the  highest  regard  of  his  brethren  three  several 
times,  extending  through  the  space  of  twelve 
years.  The  honors  thus  conferred  upon  him  by 
the  Church  had  a  tendency  to  drive  him  to  the 
Cross.  His  great  popularity  was  the  result  of 
his  moral  worth.  He  was  not  a  selfish  man  ;  he 
bad  a  warm  and  liberal  heart.    When  considered 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  79 

as  a  Christian  minister,  and  as  a  gentleman  in  all 
the  relations  of  life,  he  will  be  regarded  as  one  of 
the  noblest  of  his  race.  Bishop  Doggett  returned 
him  as  Presiding  Elder  to  the  Greensboro'  Dis- 
trict for  the  year  1870.  He  returned  to  his  home 
in  Thomasville  at  the  close  of  the  Conference,  and 
spent  a  short  time  with  his  children,  but  com- 
menced his  quarterly  meetings  early,  so  as  to 
make  a  round  and  a  half  on  his  District  before 
the  General  Conference.  He  continued  to  fill 
his  appointments  faithfull}'  until  the  last  week  in 
April,  when  he  set  out  for  Memphis,  Tenn.,  the 
seat  of  the  General  Conference.  He  called,  on 
his  way,  to  see  his  uncle,  Samuel  C.  Edwards,  in 
Lee  County,  Mississippi.  He  spent  the  Sabbath 
with  his  friends  there,  and  preached  at  Palmetto 
Church.  It  was  the  greatest  pleasure  he  could 
have  on  earth  to  spend  a  day  or  two  with  h:s 
favorite  uncle.  On  Monday  morning  he  went  to 
the  depot  to  take  the  train,  en  route  for  the  Gen- 
eral Conference,  and  met  Bishop  Paine  and  his 
daughter.  He  reached  Memphis  in  time  to  par- 
ticipate in  the  opening  service  of  the  Conference. 
He  was  appointed  on  the  Committee  on  Episco- 
pacy. He  performed  his  full  share  of  work  dur- 
ing the  session  of  the  General  Conference,  and 
spent  his  time  pleasantty  and  profitably,  but  was 
glad  when  the  Conference  adjourned,  so  that  he 
could  return  home  to  his  children.     He  was  gen- 


80  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

erally  much  debilitated  by  the  toils  of  such  long 
journeys  as  the  one  just  performed  ;  but  we  find 
him  in  a  few  days  on  his  District  filling  his  ap- 
pointments, and  also  attending  the  Board  of 
Trustees  at  the  Trinity  College  Commencement, 
performing  a  full  share  of  the  trustees'  work  ;  and 
then  again,  soon  after  commencement,  we  find 
him  at  Greensboro'  as  President  of  the  Board 
appointed  by  the  Conference  to  devise  plans  and 
means  to  rebuild  the  Greensboro'  Female  College. 
He  labored  hard  with  persistent  perseverance  to 
raise  from  its  ruins  this  time-honored  institution, 
and  but  for  his  timely  efforts  it  would  not  have 
been  so  soon  completed.  He  was  the  leading 
spirit  in  this  enterprise,  along  with  the  sainted 
Barringer  and  a  few  others.  Dr.  Reid  and  Rev. 
W.  Barringer  were  brought  in  sight  of  its  com- 
pletion, but  died  before  its  halls  were  opened  for 
the  reception  of  students.  While  he  was  prom- 
inent in  most  of  the  educational  enterprises  of 
his  Conference,  he  took  the  lead  in  rebuilding 
Greensboro'  Female  College.  He  labored  faith- 
fully for  two  or  three  3Tears  to  get  up  an  influence 
among  the  brethren  to  accomplish  this  enterprise, 
when  but  very  few  of  his  brethren  regarded  the 
object  for  which  he  so  persistently  toiled,  as  at 
all  practicable  ;  and  had  he  relaxed  his  efforts 
the  enterprise  would  in  all  probability  have 
been  a  failure  ;  but    he   continued   to  urge   the 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  81 

Church  to  lay  hold  of  it  until  other  friends  of 
female  education  came  to  the  rescue. 

At  the  close  of  this  year  the  Conference  held  its 
annual  meeting  in  the  town  of  Greensboro'.    The 
session  was  mide  more  interesting  by  the  mem- 
bers from  the  transferred  territory  meeting   with 
us.     They  made  quite  an  accession  to  our  ranks, 
and  the  increase  of  members  made  an  increase  of 
business  in  the  Conference.     Dr.  Reid,  as  usual, 
was  one  of  the  leading  spirits  in  transacting  the 
business   of  the   Conference.     Having  filled  out 
four  years  on  G-reensboro'  District,  he   was  ap- 
pointed to  labor  next  year  on  Raleigh  District  as 
Presiding    Elder.     Soon   after    Conference    ad- 
journed he  went  to  his  new  field  of  labor,  and 
was  most  cordially  received  by  the  people.     He 
entered  upon  the  performance  of  his  duties   with 
a  free  good  will,  and  performed  his  work  faith- 
fully, and  was  wise  in  winning  souls  to  Christ. 
He  was  a  universal  favorite  on  the  Raleigh  Dis- 
trict, and  his  ministry  had  awakened  verj-  great 
interest  among  the  people.     At  the  end  of  this 
year  the  Conference  held  its  session  in  the  city  of 
Charlotte,    N.   C.      The     attendance    was     full. 
Bishop  Paine  presided.     Dr.  Reid's  duties  were 
onerous  at  this  Conference,  and  the  weather  was 
rough.     He  was  up  late  at  night  in  the  Bishop's 
Council.     He  got  but  little  sleep,  and  contracted 
a  severe   cold,   from   which  he    never    fully  re- 


82  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

covered.  In  the  course  of  last  Fall  he  was  in- 
vited to  preach  the  dedication  sermon  in  the  new 
Methodist  Church  at  Pelham.  He  made  one  of 
his  happiest  pulpit  efforts.  He  held  the  vast 
multitude  of  people  spell-bound  for  one  hour. 
From  the  Charlotte  Conference  he  was  appointed 
again  to  the  Raleigh  District. 

He  came  home  from  Conference  quite  unwell 
with  cold  and  fever,  and  was  confined  to  his  room 
for  several  weeks.  He  was  not  able  to  com- 
mence his  labors  en  the  District  until  the  open- 
ing of  the  Spring,  and  was  then  quite  feeble.  He 
filled  only  two  or  three  appointments  on  Raleigh 
District,  and  then  by  mutual  consent  he  and 
Rev.  W.  H.  Bobbitt,  Presiding  Elder  of  Greens- 
boro' District,  were  changed  by  Bishop  Paine. 
His  health  seemed  to  improve  gradually,  so  that 
he  could  fill  most  of  his  appointments.  He  at- 
tended to  his  duties  as  President  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  Greensboro'  Female  College,  and  also 
as  trustee  of  Trinity  College.  He  used  all  such 
means  for  the  recovery  of  his  health  as  were 
thought  to  be  advisable.  He  had  visited  the  springs 
the  year  before  at  Piedmont,  and  after  his  return 
he  procured  the  water  from  Rockbridge  Alum 
Springs  and  used  it  freely.  He  took  a  good  deal 
of  exercise  on  horseback,  when  he  was  able  to 
do  so.  As  the  Summer  advanced  he  seemed  to 
improve.     On  the  3d  of  October,  1872,  he  was 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  83 

married  to  Miss  Sallie  E.  Wright,  sister  of  his 
former  wife.  He  continued  to  fill  his  appoint- 
ments whenever  he  was  able,  and  preached  with 
power.  Some  time  in  the  month  of  October  he 
attended  a  quarterly  meeting  at  Ruffm  Depot, 
and  on  Sunday  dedicated  the  new  Methodist 
Church  at  that  place.  He  preached  an  able  ser- 
mon to  a  vast  concourse  of  people.  The  word 
preached  took  effect  upon  the  hearts  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  he  kept  up  the  meeting  in  connection 
with  the  writer  through  the  week.  He  preached 
every  day  and  with  great  power  and  holy 
unction.  Sinners  were  converted  through  his 
ministry  and  brought  into  the  Church.  After 
preaching  through  this  whole  week  he  called  at 
Jamestown  on  Saturday  and  Sunday  on  his  way 
home,  and  held  a  quarterly  meeting.  On  the 
9th  clay  of  November  following  his  dear  father, 
Rev.  James  Reid,  died  suddenly  at  the  house  of 
Rev.  Dr.  Wilson,  in  Greensboro'.  This  was 
another  severe  shock  upon  his  frail  constitution. 
He  repaired  to  Greensboro'  as  soon  as  he  could 
after  he  received  the  sad  intelligence,  and  in 
company  with  the  writer  attended  the  remains  to 
Louisburg,  where  they  were  deposited  by  the 
grave  of  his  sainted  wife.  He  was  sad  as  he  re- 
turned to  his  home.  On  his  arrival  he  found 
himself  much  debilitated.  After  this  he  filled  no 
more  appointments  until  Conference.     He  went 


84  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

round  with  the  writer  by  the  way  of  Louisburg, 
to  look  after  his  father's  affairs,  and  from  thence 
to  Fayetteville,  the  seat  of  the  Annual  Confer- 
ence. It  was  a  fatiguing  journe}r,  and  the  last 
session  of  the  Conference  that  he  ever  attended. 
He  was  domiciled  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the 
Church  where  the  Conference  sessions  were  held, 
which  was  too  much  fatigue  for  his  weak  consti- 
tution and  poor  health.  Bishop  Paine  presided 
at  this  Conference,  and  it  was  altogether  an  in- 
teresting session.  Dr.  Reid  took  a  deep  interest 
in  the  business  of  the  Conference,  but  seemed  to 
be  sad.  He  was  returned  to  Greensboro'  Dis- 
trict. He  returned  home  after  Conference,  and 
remained  in  doors  prett}^  much  through  the  Win- 
ter. He  did  not  attempt  to  preach  but  few  times. 
As  the  Spring  approached  he  grew  worse.  He 
went  to  Greensboro'  and  back  one  day  in  the 
month  of  March.  After  this  trip  to  Greensboro' 
he  did  not  go  out  much  except  to  take  short  rides 
for  exercise.  He  would  read  some  and  write 
letters  on  business,  and  wrote  a  few  articles  for 
the  Raleigli  Christian  Advocate.  His  son,  Rev. 
Frank  L.  Reid,  visited  him  about  the  last  of 
March,  and  continued  with  him  from  that  time 
until  his  death,  except  to  go  occasionally  and  fill 
an  appointment  and  return  as  soon  as  practicable. 
He  could  still  walk  about  the  house  and  ride  a 
little  for  exercise.     Some  time  after  the  middle  of 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  85 

April,  by  the  advice  of  his  son  and  the  writer,  he 
made  a  visit  to  his  wife's  relatives  in  Wentworth. 
His  friends  thought  that  the  trip  would  benefit 
him.  He  went  down  on  the  train  with  his  wife 
and  his  youngest  child  and  a  servant.  His  son 
Frank  had  gone  down  the  day  previous  in  order 
to  meet  him  at  the  depot  with  a  carriage  to  con- 
vey him  to  Wentworth.  It  was  a  beautiful  April 
day,  but  the  journey  fatigued  him  ;  he  felt  gloomy, 
and  was  never  as  well  afterward  as  he  was  before. 
He  met  his  old  family  physician,  Dr.  John  R. 
Raine,  who  encouraged  him,  and  for  a  short  time 
he  seemed  to  rally  and  improve  a  little,  but  it  was 
only  temporary.  He  soon  grew  worse,  and  con- 
tinued to  decline  gradually,  and  concluded  not  to 
return  to  Thomasville  ;  and  sent  his  son,  Frank 
L.  Reid,  to  remove  his  effects  out  of  his  former 
dwelling  house,  which  he  had  surrendered  to  the 
party  from  whom  he  had  bought  it.  He  con- 
tinued to  try  remedies  for  his  recovery,  but  gra- 
dually declined  and  became  weaker  until  the  4th 
of  June,  when  he  became  fully  convinced  that  he 
would  die.  After  having  given  up  all  hopes  of 
recovery  he  fully  resigned  himself  into  the  hands 
of  his  adorable  Redeemer,  and  was  in  ecstasies  of 
joy  as  long  as  he  lived.  Like  the  great  Apostle 
of  the  Gentiles,  he  felt  that  he  had  "fought  the 
good  fight,  and  had  finished  his  course  in  peace. *; 
He  despatched  to  his  children  and  to  the  writer 


86  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

to  come,  but  he  died  before  they  could  reach  him. 
He  was  conscious  to  the  last,  and  exulted  in  pros- 
pect of  soon  crossing  the  last  river.  As  long  as 
he  could  speak  he  bore  testimony  that  all  was 
well.  He  died  without  a  struggle  on  Friday,  the 
6th  of  June,  at  8  o'clock,  A.  M.  G-ocl  bless  his 
memory — "though  dead,  he  yet  speaketh."  Many 
of  the  precious  truths  he  uttered  while  living 
are  treasured  up  in  the  memory  of  the  friends 
he  has  left  behind  him.  May  they  continue  to 
profit  by  them  and  become  wiser  unto  salvation, 
until  the}T  can  hail  him  on  the  other  shore.  May 
the  Providence  which  took  him  away  be  sanctified 
to  the  good  of  his  surviving  friends  ;  may  that  God 
who  is  a  husband  to  the  widow  and  a  father  to  the 
orphan  take  care  of  his  bereaved  family.  He 
leaves  a  widow  and  eight  children — five  sons  and 
three  daughters — to  mourn  their  loss  ;  but,  thank 
God,  they  do  not  mourn  as  those  who  have  no 
hope.  They  are  well  assured  that  their  loss  is 
his  gain.     May  they  all  meet  him  in  heaven. 

His  funeral  was  preached  on  Sunday,  June  8th, 
1873,  in  the  Methodist  Church  at  Wentworth, 
N.  C,  by  Rev.  B.  Craven,  D.  D.,  from  2  Samuel, 
iii.  chap.,  38  verse :  "Know  ye  not  that  there  is  a 
prince  and  a  great  man  fallen  this  da}r  in  Israel?" 
before  a  very  large  congregation.  He  was  buried 
with  the  Church  service — the  Masonic  fraternity 
being  in  attendance. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  87 

The  following  sketch  of  the  last  two  months  of 
the  life,  and  illness,  and  death  of  Rev.  Nuraa  F. 
Reid,  was  written  by  his  second  son,  Rev.  Frank 
L.  Reid,  to  a  relative : 

"In  March,  the  last  of  the  month,  hearing  of 
m}T  father's  declining  health  from  himself  and 
others,  I  went  to  see  him,  and  found  him  very 
low  spirited.  I  spent  two  weeks  with  him,  and 
when  my  time  came  to  return  to  my  work  he 
urged  me  to  stay,  until  I  finally  persuaded  him 
to  go  with  me  to  Rockingham.  He  was  then  fully 
convinced  that  he  had  consumption  and  would 
shortly  die,  and  so  expressed  himself  to  me  pri- 
vately. To  convince  him  to  the  contrary  I  pro- 
posed to  get  Dr.  Thomas  to  examine  his  lungs,  to 
which  he  agreed.  The  examination  took  place. 
The  doctor  assured  him  his  lungs  were  as  sound 
as  mine,  after  examining  us  both  together.  This 
relieved  his  mind  to  a  great  extent.  Finally,  I 
persuaded  him  to  go  to  Rockingham,  which  he  did 
about  the  1st  of  April,  with  his  wife,  Lizzie  and 
myself.  When  we  reached  Wentworth  he  told 
them  he  had  come  there  to  die.  I  was  then  rid- 
ing with  him  eight  or  ten  miles  every  dajr.  He 
tried  every  remedy  to  relieve  himself,  and  strug- 
gled as  hard  as  any  man  could  to  get  well,  and 
said  if  he  could  just  get  well  he  thought  he  could 
preach  better  than  he  ever  did  in  his  life ;  but  he 
seemed  to  get  no  better,  and,  as  we  thought  then, 


88  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

no  worse.  He  tried  to  divert  his  mind  by  dic- 
tating for  me  to  write  for  the  papers  and  in  assist- 
ing me  in  getting  up  my  sermons,  but  he  could 
not  hold  out  long  at  a  time.  He  went  out  on  the 
street  to  try  to  interest  himself,  but  to  no  avail. 
He  often  spoke  of  death,  and  shouted  and  wept. 
Several  times  I  had  to  restrain  him.  Often  he 
expressed  himself  full}'  and  freely  to  me  as  per- 
fectly ready  to  die.  The  only  thing  was  the  sus- 
pense, the  uncertainty  of  his  health,  until,  finally, 
on  the  4th  of  June,  after  I  had  assisted  him  to 
rise,  and  after  he  had  eaten  a  little  breakfast,  he 
took  off  his  clothes,  took  his  bed,  and  seemed  to 
give  up  every  hold  he  had  on  the  world.  He 
paid  but  little  attention  to  any  one  or  anything 
about  him.  I  on  that  day  wrote  for  all  the 
children.  It  was  on  Wednesday.  That  night  he 
rested  well.  Thursday  he  was  quiet  and  inatten- 
tive all  day.  His  will  was  written  by  him  early 
Thursday  morning.  Thursday  night,  at  7  o'clock, 
Dr.  Raine  called  to  see  him,  and  told  me,  when  I 
followed  him  out,  to  let  him  rest,  not  to  sit  up  with 
him  at  all,  that  he  had  no  idea  that  he  would  die 
under  three  weeks.  When  I  returned  he  told  me 
to  go  to  bed,  and  if  he  did  not  rest  well  he  would 
send  for  me,  which  I  did,  and  he  went  to  sleep. 
About  11  o'clock  he  awoke  and  sent  for  me.  I 
went  in  and  found  him  panting,  perfectly  wet 
with  perspiration,  and  he  told  me  that  he  thought 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  89 

he  was  dying.  I  told  him  no,  he  was  too  warm, 
and  took  a  little  cover  off,  and  he  seemed  to  get 
over  it.  He  then  had  his  will  witnessed,  and 
then  he  commenced  to  shout  and  talk.  He  asked 
me  if  I  didn't  love  Jesus.  I  requested  him  to  get 
quiet.  He  then  told  me  if  I  would  blow  out  the 
lamp  he  would  go  to  sleep.  He  told  me  to  go  to 
bed  also.  I  put  the  lamp  out  in  the  passage  and 
slipped  back  and  took  my  seat  by  his  bedside. 
I  soon  discovered  that  his  eyes  were  a  little 
glazed,  and  my  stepmother  seeing  it  told  him  she 
thought  he  was  dying.  He  said  no,  not  then,  but 
he  was  going  to  die.  I  then  asked  him  if  all  was 
right ;  he  answered  that  it  was ;  then  I  called  up 
his  sermon  on  death,  and  he  remembered  it — re- 
membered his  idea  that  death  was  like  going  to 
sleep  to  the  Christian — gradually  passing  off,  not 
knowing  exactly  when.  I  asked  him  if  he  had 
any  message  for  the  children ;  he  said,  '  none,  ex- 
cept tell  them  all  to  meet  me  in  heaven.'  Little 
Lizzie  came  in,  crawled  up  and  kissed  him,  and 
started  off;  he  drew  her  up  to  him  and  kissed  her 
again.  He  then  recognized  several  who  came  in, 
but  after  a  while  he  failed  to  remember  some  of 
his  friends.  I  then  leaned  over  him  and  asked 
him  if  he  knew  me,  and  with  a  beautiful  smile 
wreathing  his  face  he  said,  "  why,  know  you, 
Frank?'  He  then  asked  me  to  sing.  I  tried,  but 
could  not.     Rev.  Mr.  Norman  came  in  a  few  mo- 


90  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

merits  after,  and  sang  and  prayed.  I  think  his 
last  distinct  words  were,  '  I  will  see  your  mother 
and  my  mother.7  He  passed  off  quietly,  without 
a  struggle,  and  but  one  gasp.  I  could  hardly  tell 
when  he  breathed  his  last  breath.  He  first  com- 
menced dying  about  midnight,  and  breathed  his 
last  at  five  minutes  before  8  o'clock,  A-  M." 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  funeral 
sermon  of  Dr.  Reid,  preached  by  Rev.  B.  Craven, 
D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  from  2  Samuel  iii.  38  :  "Know  you 
not  that  there  is  a  prince  and  a  great  man  fallen 
this  day  in  Israel  ?" 

"  A  prince  and  a  great  man  has  fallen,  and  this 
immense  multitude  has  assembled  to  honor  him 
with  a  royal  burial.  As  a  citizen  in  the  State,  a 
Minister  in  the  Church,  and  a  rounded,  complete 
man  in  all  social  offices  and  duties,  llev.  N.  F. 
Reid,  D.  D.,  was  truly  a  prince  and  really  a  great 
man.  I  knew  him  as  I  have  known  no  other  man; 
we  have  thought  and  worked  together  in  prosper- 
ity and  adversity.  In  healthful,  joyous  life  I  have 
seen  his  sanctified  ambition,  his  mental  grasp  and 
fulness,  his  hopefulness  that  made  others  hope 
and  toil  on,  and  his  eve  of  genius  that  kindled 
with  soul  fire  in  times  of  great  effort.  When  dis- 
ease was  upon  him,  when  pain  tortured,  and  en- 
ergy was  feeble,  he  was  still  the  same  noble  man, 
still  had  the  same  large  unselfish  views,  and  in  a 
remarkable  manner  showed  that  greatness  of  faith 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  91 

that  rises  above  all  powers  of  earth.  He  had 
acute  comprehensive  power  of  observation  ;  he 
understood,  arranged  and  classified  facts  quickly 
and  clearly ;  he  read  men  and  events  with  a  cor- 
rectness of  perception,  and  drew  his  conclusions 
from  all  so  fairly  and  truthfully,  that  no  man 
could  complain  of  injustice.  Dr.  Reid  was  a 
scholar  in  the  highest  and  best  sense  of  the  term. 
His  information  was  extensive  on  nearly  all  sub- 
jects, and  his  mind  was  disciplined  and  developed 
to  the  greatest  comprehension  and  execution. 
But  his  greatness,  his  practical  importance  in 
affairs,  and  his  eminent  usefulness,  were  best  seen 
and  most  felt  in  the  discharge  of  his  daily  duties. 
In  the  Annual  Conference,  on  the  District,  or  in 
the  Station,  he  demonstrated  the  real  importance 
of  a  great  mind  and  a  warm  Christian  heart.  He 
did  all  his  work  well,  without  fear  and  without 
partiality.  He  was  kind  in  his  judgment  of  all 
men,  liberal  to  his  opponents,  and  fair  to  his 
friends.  He  never  entered  into  any  plan  or 
combination  to  promote  his  own  interest  or  to 
retard  the  advancement  of  any  other  person ;  but 
with  conscientious  fairness  and  Christian  integrity 
aided  all  and  injured  none.  He  was  a  great  and 
good  man.  His  name  and  fame  are  dear  to  the 
whole  State.  Thousands  to-day  feel  that  one  of 
the  principal  men  of  the  State  and  of  the  Church 
has  fallen,  and  sadness  is  felt  in  many  homes  and 


92  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

churches  he  never  saw,  and  by  multitudes  with 
whom  he  was  not  personally  acquainted.  Few 
men  are  so  thoroughly  good,  so  equally  great,  and 
so  generally  beloved ;  and  few  have  left  so  much 
good  to  perpetuate  their  remembrance,  and  so 
little  evil  to  darken  their  fame.  With  this  great 
congregation,  representing  all  classes,  and  from 
all  parts  of  the  country,  I  unite  in  mourning  the 
death  of  our  beloved  brother." 

The  following  is  an  extract  of  an  obituary  no- 
tice of  the  late  Eev.  N.  F.  Reid,  D.  D.,  written  by 
Rev.  0.  M.  Pepper : 

"The  Rev.  N.  F.  Reid,  D.  D.,  departed  this  life 
June  6th,  1873,  at  Wentworth,  N.  C.  He  was 
born  3d  of  July,  1825,  and  became  a  member  of 
the  Church  in  1842.  He  entered  the  N.  0.  Con- 
ference in  the  year  1850,  having  travelled  the 
Wentworth  Circuit  two  years  as  a  supply.  His 
first  pastoral  charge  after  joining  Conference  was 
the  Tar  River  Circuit.  He  was  subsequently 
stationed  in  Wilmington,  Raleigh  and  Greens- 
boro'. For  sixteen  years  he  filled  the  office  of 
Presiding  Elder — having  travelled  the  Salisbury, 
Greensboro'  and  Raleigh  Districts.  He  was  four 
times  elected  to  General  Conference,  and  three 
times  received  the  highest  vote  that  was  given. 
He  was  the  fostering  patron  of  all  our  Church 
enterprises,  having  been  the  prime  mover  in  the 
magnificent  enterprise  of  rebuilding  Greensboro' 
Female  College.     No  man  in  North  Carolina  Con- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  93 

ference  wielded  an  influence  so  extensive  as  did 
he;  no  man  perhaps  in  our  State  has  so  impressed 
the  public  mind,  and  nowhere  was  his  influence 
greater  than  in  Thomasville,  where  he  has  resided 
for  the  last  seven  years.  It  is  not  needful  that  I 
should  speak  of  his  talents,  of  his  pulpit  or  execu- 
tive ability.  He  was  too  well  known  to  need 
eulogy.  As  one  who  was  intimate  with  him  for 
years,  and  to  whom  he  spoke  of  almost  all  his 
matters,  I  will  say  that  for  purit}^  and  integrity 
I  have  not  seen  his  superior.  I  knew  him  well, 
and  I  am  sure  he  was  one  of  the  best  men  T  ever 
knew ;  and  as  he  lived  so  he  died.  Frequently 
during  his  illness  he  spoke  of  his  preparations  for 
the  change,  and  gave  us  evidence  that,  the  golden 
grain  was  ripening  for  the  sickle  and  the  heavenly 
garner.  It  is  to  his  friends  a  gratifying  fact  that 
he  died  almost  without  a  struggle— went  off"  just 
as  if  he  was  going  to  sleep.  Thus  passed  away 
in  triumph  one  of  our  greatest  men ;  one  whose 
memory  we  shall  fondly  cherish,  and  wTho  will  be 
embalmed  in  thousands  of  hearts.  In  the  early 
morn,  when  the  dew  still  stood  in  pearly  drops 
upon  the  grass  and  flowers,  the  spirit  of  our  be- 
loved brother  left  its  clay  tenement  in  ruins,  and 
winged  its  hallowed  flight,  escorted  by  angels, 
back  to  the  bosom  of  God." 

The  Greensboro'  District  Conference,  held  at 
Ruffin,  June  29th,  1873,  passed  the  following  reso- 
lutions by  an  unanimous  rising  vote  : 


94  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

Whereas,  An  Allwise  and  Gracious  Providence 
has  removed  our  beloved  and  lamented  Presiding 
Elder,  Rev.  N.  F.  Reid,  D.  D. ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  1st,  That  while  we  bow  with  submis- 
sion to  the  will  of  Him  who  does  all  things  well, 
believing  that  He  can  bury  His  workmen  and 
carry  on  His  work ;  yet  we  feel  most  sensibly  the 
stroke  which  has  taken  from  us  our  brother,  coun- 
sellor, leader  and  friend. 

Resolved,  2d.  That  in  the  death  of  Dr.  Reid  we 
have  lost  one  of  our  greatest,  wisest  and  best 
men,  and  one  of  our  ablest  Presiding  Elders. 

Resolved,  3d,  That  we  will  cherish  a  fond  re- 
membrance of  his  virtues,  and  strive  to  follow 
him  as  he  followed  Christ,  that  like  him  we  may 
pass  away  in  peace  and  triumph,  and  that  we  may 
join  him  again  on  the  other  shore,  and  renew  the 
association  which  was  so  pleasant  here,  and  was 
interrupted  by  death. 

Resolved,  tth,  That  we  tender  to  his  bereaved 
family  our  heartfelt  sympathy,  assuring  them  of 
the  deep  interest  we  feel  in  them,  and  that  we 
will  by  prayer  and  by  effort  do  what  we  can  for 
their  present  and  future  good. 

Resolved,  6th,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions 
be  sent  to  his  family,  and  to  the  Raleigh  Christian 
Advocate  for  publication. 

C.  H.  Phillips,        ) 

J.  A.  Cunninggim,  >-  Committee. 

C.  M.  Pepper.  ) 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  95 

The  following  resolutions  were  passed  by  the 
Board  of  Trustees  of  G-reensboro'  Female  College, 
at  a  meeting  held  in  Greensboro',  June  14th, 
1873: 

Whereas,  Since  the  last  meeting  of  the  Board, 
Rev.  N.  F.  Reid,  D.  D.,  has  passed  away  from 
this  world  by  a  seemingly  premature  yet  triumph- 
ant Christian  death ;  therefore, 

Resolved — 

1st,  That  Dr.  Reid  was  one  of  the  most  efficient 
and  zealous  friends  of  Greensboro'  Female  Col- 
lege ;  wise  in  council  and  faithful  to  all  the  best 
interests  of  the  College. 

2d,  That  the  death  of  Dr.  Reid  is  a  great  loss 
to  the  Church  and  to  the  State,  but  especially  is 
the  loss  great  to  this  College ;  he  was  thoroughly 
identified  with  it  and  cherished  it  with  the  warm- 
est affection. 

3c?,  That  while  we  bow  submissively  to  the  will 
of  Him  that  doeth  all  things  well,  yet  we  deplore 
the  death  that  has  deprived  us  of  a  beloved  Chris- 
tian minister  and  an  efficient  President  of  our 
Board. 

\ih,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  to 
the  family  of  our  deceased  brother,  and  also  to  the 
Advocate  for  publication. 

B.  Craven,  ) 

T.  M.  Jones,  >•  Committee. 

C.  P.  Mendenhall,  ) 


96  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

The  Committee  on  Memoirs  presented  the  fol- 
lowing, which  was  adopted  by  the  North  Carolina 
Conference,  at  its  session  in  Goldsboro',  N.  C, 
December  15,  1873: 

"rev.  numa  f.  reid,  d.  d. 

"  Nuraa  F.  Reid  was  born  in  Rockingham 
County,  N.  C,  July  3,  1825.  His  parents  were 
Rev.  James  Reid,  of  sainted  memory  in  the  North 
Carolina  Conference,  and  Martha  Reid,  daughter 
of  Rev.  George  R.  Edwards. 

"N.  F.  Reid  was  the  second  of  nine  children, 
and  survived  all  of  them  but  one.  When  a  boy 
he  was  remarkable  for  unyielding  integrity,  genial 
affection,  and  attachment  to  home,  and  especially 
to  his  mother ;  nor  did  these  amiable  qualities 
cease  with  childhood,  but  became  stronger  and 
still  more  beautiful  as  they  adorned  graceful, 
gifted,  useful  manhood.  In  early  life  his  edu- 
cational advantages  were  confined  to  the  small 
public  and  private  schools  common  in  that  section 
of  the  country.  At  the  age  of  thirteen  he  entered 
Emory  and  Henry  College,  where  he  remained 
three  years.  He  left  the  institution  without  grad- 
uating, though  he  had  accomplished  most  of  the 
academic  course  of  study.  He  was  a  hard  stu- 
dent at  college,  and  so  continued  to  the  end  of  his 
life.  He  was  eminently  a  scholar  in  mental  dis- 
cipline,  mental  development,    knowledge   of  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  97 

scholar's  resources  and  their  use,  clear  conception 
of  systems  of  thought,  and  an  unusual  comprehen- 
sion of  men,  opinions  and  tendencies.  He  saw 
quickly  and  clearly,  discriminated  wisely,  argued 
with  directness  and  force,  and  rarely  on  any  occa- 
sion was  wanting  in  information,  arrangement  of 
ideas,  or  facility  of  expression.  Mentally  he  was 
a  greater  man  than  the  work  he  did,  and  his  works 
are  worthy  any  man  or  any  Church.  Physically 
he  was  delicate  from  childhood,  was  often  pre- 
vented from  protracted  study  or  great  efforts, 
and  never  experimentally  knew  or  enjoyed  the 
immense  advantage  of  vigorous,  mind-sustaining 
health.  His  body  was  never  at  all  equal  to  his 
soul's  wants  and  needs ;  and  many  a  sermon  did 
he  preach  and  many  a  duty  perform  on  the 
Conference  floor,  when  nothing  but  indomitable 
energy  kept  him  from  confinement  in  bed.  He 
once  said  that  experience  had  proved  to  him  that 
prayer  was  as  beneficial  to  his  body  as  to  his  soul, 
and  without  prayer  his  body  would  not  have  last- 
ed till  his  thirtieth  year. 

At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  commenced  a  school 
at  Thompson ville,  in  Rockingham  County,  Rev. 
James  H.  Brent  being  at  that  time  one  of  his 
pupils.  Afterward  he  taught  at  Salem  Church, 
near  Reidsville,  and  in  1846,  in  connection  with 
Mr.  F.  L.  Harris,  he  opened  an  academy  at 
Wentworth.     Mr.  Harris  withdrew  at  the  end  of 


98  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

the  first  year,  but  the  school  was  continued  four 
years  by  Dr.  Reid  with  great  success.  During 
this  period  he  had  some  inclination  to  study  law, 
and  was  strongly  urged  thereto  by  gentlemen  of 
the  bar  residing  in  that  county  who  knew  him, 
and  predicted  that  he  would  attain  great  distinc- 
tion in  that  profession.  While  teaching  at  Went- 
worth  he  received  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts 
from  Randolph  Macon  College,  and  in  1866  the 
University  of  North  Carolina  bestowed  upon 
him  unanimously  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divin- 
ity. These  and  other  honors  he  appreciated 
becomingly,  sustained  nobly,  and  wielded  all  for 
the  glory  of  God. 

In  1847  he  was  licensed  to  preach,  and  trav- 
elled Wentworth  Circuit  two  years  as  a  supply. 
In  1851  he  joined  the  North  Carolina  Conference 
at  Salisbury,  was  ordained  deacon  the  same  year, 
and  elder  in  1853.  The  labors  of  his  ministry 
were  as  follows  :  1852-'53,  Tar  River  Circuit ; 
1854,  Front  Street,  Wilmington;  1855-'56,  Ra- 
leigh Station  ;  1857,  Greensboro'  Station  ;  1858- 
'59,  Presiding  Elder  on  Salisbury  District ;  1860- 
'61-'62-'63,  Presiding  Elder  on  Greensboro' 
District  ;  1864-'65-'66-'67,  Presiding  Elder  on 
Raleigh  District  ;  1868-'69-'70-'7l,  Presiding 
Elder  on  Greensboro'  District ;  1872,  he  was 
appointed  Presiding  Elder  of  Raleigh  District, 
but  his  health  becoming  greatly  impaired,  with 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  99 

the  consent  of  the  Bishop,  he  exchanged  work 
the  next  year  with  Eev.  Wm.  H.  Bobbitt  on 
Greensboro'  District,  and  continued  on  that 
District  till  his  death.  He  was  four  times 
elected  to  General  Conference,  and  three  times 
headed  the  list  of  delegates. 

In  1846  he  was  married  to  Ann  Eliza  Wright, 
oldest  daughter  of  James  Wright,  Esq.,  of  Went- 
worth.  Eight  children  were  born  to  him — seven 
are  still  living.  His  wife  died  April  15th,  1869. 
He  was  married  a  second  time,  September  3d, 
1872,  to  Sallie  L.  Wright,  sister  of  his  first  wife. 

In  all  the  relations  of  life  he  was  a  model  man, 
and  everywhere  by  his  actions  fully  and  forcibly 
commended  the  gospel  which  he  preached.  As  a 
preacher  he  preached  the  Gospel  with  learning 
for  the  understanding,  with  los-ic  to  convince,  and 
with  a  divine  unction  to  move  the  heart.  As  a 
presiding  officer  he  was  courteous  though  decided, 
looking  carefully  after  all  the  interests  of  the 
Church,  and  was  eminently  successful  in  always 
having  them  in  good  condition.  As  a  member  of 
Conference  he  was  genial,  diligent  in  business, 
and  fair  to  all.  In  social  life  he  was  lively  and 
pleasant,  somewhat  fond  of  well  polished  repartee, 
but  was  never  known  to  use  or  countenance 
rough  jesting  or  coarse  allusions. 

He  was  in  an  especial  manner  interested  in  our 
educational  enterprises,  and  was  connected  with 


100  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

every  movement  made  for  their  establishment. 
He  was  a  trustee  both  of  Trinity  College  and 
of  Greensboro'  Female  College ;  he  attended  all 
meetings,  and  was  a  chief  man  in  devising  and 
maturing  plans.  To  Dr.  Reid,  more  than  any 
other  man,  is  Greensboro'  Female  College  in- 
debted for  its  existence.  In  all  respects  all  our 
colleges  owe  much  to  Dr.  Reid — he  loved  them 
and  labored  for  their  good.  Our  Advocates, 
through  all  their  varied  fortunes,  he  sustained  by 
speeches  before  the  Conference  and  the  public, 
by  contributions  to  their  columns,  and  financial 
help  from  his  own  resources.  He  firmly  be- 
lieved in  sustaining  all  Conference  enterprises — 
his  motto  being  that  we  live  for  the  Church  and 
our  families,  the  two  being  identified  in  all  their 
interests. 

He  was  an  honored  member  of  the  Masonic 
Fraternity,  had  much  influence  among  Masons, 
and  was  greatly  respected  by  them.  One  of  the 
finest  productions  of  his  life  was  his  address  at 
the  Centennial  Anniversary  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  North  Carolina. 

Such  were  some  of  the  virtues  of  our  deceased 
brother.  Not  many  such  men,  so  gifted  and  so 
useful  to  the  Church  and  public,  are  given  to  any 
one  age  of  history. 

At  Charlotte  Conference,  1871,  he  contracted  a 
cold,  from  which  he  never  finally  recovered. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  101 

At  the  close  of  the  last  Conference  his  health 
was  greatly  injured  by  fresh  cold.  He  attended 
his  appointments  till  February,  and  struggled 
hard  to  continue  on,  but  could  not.  He  then  pro- 
posed to  the  brethren  to  resign  his  District,  but 
they  dissuaded  him  from  that  step.  In  March  he 
told  the  writer  of  this  that  his  work  was  done. 
He  said,  "I  should  like  to  preach  a  few  more 
times  ;  I  would  call  for  penitents  every  time  I 
preached.  I  could  tell  the  people  better  about 
eternal  things.  I  am  waiting  by  the  river,  and 
feel  and  know  the  reality  of  what  I  have  loved 
and  preached.  If  I  never  go  to  Conference  again, 
tell  the  brethren  I  loved  them  better  and  still 
better  at  the  last,  and  bid  them  good-bye  till  we 
meet  in  Heaven. 

He  continued  still  able  to  walk  about  the  house 
till  June  4th,  when  he  was  confined  to  his  bed, 
and  lingered  there  till  8  o'clock  Friday  morning, 
June  6th,  when  he  died  peacefully  and  triumph- 
antly. For  the  last  two  days  he  rejoiced  almost 
continually  ;  his  mind  was  clear  and  his  faith 
strong.  He  told  them  not  to  give  him  stimulants, 
he  wanted  to  face  death  with  an  unclouded  mind 
and  a  Christian's  faith.  His  last  words  were, 
"  Frank,  I  shall  see  your  mother  and  my  mother." 

His  funeral  was  preached  at  Wentworth  on  the 
next  Sabbath  before  such  a  multitude  as  has  not 
often  assembled  in  any  State.  All  the  people 
loved  Dr.  Reid.     His  fame  and  good  works  are  in 


102  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

all  Churches,  and  his  memory  is  a  rich  legacy  to  the 
whole  country. 

B.  Craven",  ] 

Ira  F.  Wyche,  1    n 

A.  W.  Mangum,         \  Cornmtftee. 

J.  A.  CUNNINGGIM.    J 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Ancient  Free  and  Accept- 
ed Masons  of  North  Carolina,  December  1st,  2d, 
3d,  and  4th,  A.  L.  5873,  makes  the  following 
entry  in  their  Journal  in  Grand  Master  John 
Nicholas  Annual  Address  : 

"  During  the  year  another  member  of  our  noble 
Order,  Rev.  Numa  F.  Reid,  D.  D.,  Past  Grand 
Chaplain  of  this  Grand  Lodge,  has  gone  from  labor 
to  rest.  It  is  seldom  that  one  who  dies  takes  from 
the  world  so  much  of  promise  and  of  hope  ;  sel- 
dom that  the  soul  departed  leaves  in  its  works 
and  influence  so  much  of  promise  and  of  power, 
to  still  bring  cheer  and  blessings  to  the  world. 
He  passed  through  this  life  like  one  of  God's  con- 
secrated noblemen.  His  brethren  cherished  him  ; 
the  lowly  and  the  great  alike  esteemed  him  ; 
society  at  large  applauded  him  ;  the  Church  de- 
lighted to  honor  and  trust  him  ;  even  death  was 
but  the  chariot  of  his  immortality,  and  he  left  in 
life  and  death  the  strongest  evidence  that  his  work 
was  accepted  by  the  Great  Master,  and  rewarded 
with  the  glorious  crown  of  eternal  life  ;  living 
and  dying,  he  showed  at  once  the  beauty,  the 
nobility  and   the   wisdom  of  righteousness.     We 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  103 

weep  over  his  fall.  We  rejoice  over  Ms  everlast- 
ing triumph." 

A.  W.  Mangum,  from  the  Special  Committee  on 
Memoirs,  submitted  the  following  report,  which 
was  read  and  adopted  : 

"Kev.  Numa  F.  Eeid,  D.D.,  has  also  finished 
his  labors,  and  has  gone  to  the  land  of  reward 
and  rest.  He  was  a  beloved  and  distinguished 
Past  Grand  Chaplain.  The  words  of  fervent 
and  admiring  commendation  which  were  spoken 
of  him  through  life  by  our  fraternity,  were  ever 
echoed  loud  and  clear  throughout  the  broad 
sphere  of  his  acquaintance,  by  the  tongues  of  all 
persons  who  have  wisdom  to  discover,  and  integ- 
rity to  appreciate  and  commend  talent,  eloquence, 
principle  and  righteousness.  He  was  regarded 
a  great  man  by  great  men.  He  was  regarded  a 
good  man  by  the  best  of  men." 

The  following  inscription  was  inserted  on  a 
memorial  page  of  the  Grand  Lodge  proceedings  : 

"INSCRIBED  TO  THE  MEMORY 

OF 


Past  Grand   Chaplain  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
NORTH     CAROLINA. 


Born  3d  of  July,  1825. 
Lied  6th  of  June.   1873. 

AN     ELOQUENT     PROCLAIMER     OF    THE     GOSPEL,     RICHLY     ENDOWED     WITH 

THE     QUALITIES    OF    A    NOBLE    CHARACTER,     HE    LIVED     AND 

DIED  AS  ONE  OF  GOD'S  CONSECRATED  NOBLEMEN." 


104  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

The  following  extract  is  from  a  Memorial  Ser- 
mon preached  before  the  N.  C.  Conference  at 
Goldsboro',  N.  0.,  Dec.  15th,  1873,  by  Rev.  N.H. 
D.  Wilson,  D.D.: 

"My  acquaintance  with  Brother  Reid  com- 
menced when  we  were  both  young  men.  I  had 
just  entered  the  ministry,  and  he  had  not  yet 
begun  to  preach.  His  father's  house  was  on 
my  way  to  the  first  Circuit  I  travelled.  By  invi- 
tation I  made  it  my  home,  and  a  most  pleasant 
one  it  was.  No  small  item  in  the  pleasure  of  my 
occasional  visits  there  was  the  presence  and  asso- 
ciations of  "Wesley"  and  "Fletcher,"  as  the 
boys  were  familiarly  called  by  their  venerable 
father.  Wesley,  the  eldest  son,  gifted  and  lovely, 
fell  in  early  manhood.  I  wept  for  him  as  for  a 
brother.  But  he  was  ready,  and  left  us  a  pre- 
cious testimony  of  his  acceptance  with  his  Saviour. 
Fletcher,  beyond  the  prospect  of  opening  man- 
hood, survived  nearly  thirty  years.  Through  all 
that  time  I  knew  him.  Much  of  it  he  was  my  in- 
timate friend  and  associate.  Our  work  in  the 
Church  has  been  blended  and  intermingled.  At 
one  time  he  was  in  my  District  ;  at  another  I  was 
in  his.  For  years  we  lived  neighbors.  I  knew 
him  well ;  I  loved  him  tenderly. 

Brother  Reid  was  young  when  he  was  con- 
verted ;  young  when  he  was  called  to  the  minis- 
try.    He   began  his  work  when  so  young,   and 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  105 

worked  so  industriously  that,  although  he  died 
under  the  age  of  fifty,  he  had  done  the  work  of  a 
long  life. 

From  the  first,  as  a  preacher,  he  was  highly 
gifted.  His  very  hesitancy  as  a  speaker  gave  a 
deeper  interest  in  the  sparkling  gems  of  thought, 
that  his  first  sermons  threw  upon  the  minds  and 
hearts  of  his  hearers.  As  a  minister  he  rose  with 
a  rapidity  almost  astonishing  to  his  best  and  most 
familiar  friends.  In  a  few  years  he  stood  forth  as 
a  member  of  our  Conference,  with  the  acknow- 
ledged ability  to  fill  any  position  in  our  work,  and 
fill  it  with  the  very  highest  measure  of  accept- 
ability. Circuits,  Stations,  Districts  called  for  his 
services,  and  he  met  the  call  with  the  unqualified 
and  most  hearty  approval  of  all  whom  he  served. 
While  all  the  time  filling  appointments  in  ' '  the 
regular  work,"  his  watchful  eye,  earnest  heart, 
and  active  hand  were  upon  our  educational  and 
other  interests  that  look  to  the  success  of  Chris- 
tianity in  general  and  Methodism  in  particular. 
He  lost  sight  of  none  of  these,  but  labored  for 
them  all.  As  a  preacher  he  studied  the  Scrip- 
tures "daily"  and  closely,  and  then  expounded 
them  to  his  hearers,  applying  their  truths  to  the 
hearts  and  consciences  of  all  who  listened  to  him. 
His  sermons  were  clear,  incisive,  strong,  and  often 
there  was  a  depth  of  sympathy  and  fulness  of 
pathos  that  reached  and  melted  all  hearts.    Again, 


106  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

he  would,  with  almost  matchless  power,  warn  the 
sinner ;  or,  in  beauty  and  grandeur  of  thought 
and  language,  lift  his  hearers  to  a  contemplation 
of  the  glories  of  the  upper  temple.  The  propel- 
ling power  upon  his  heart  as  he  preached  seemed 
to  be  an  equal  blending  of  the  two  feelings  of  the 
Apostle,  "  the  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us,"  and 
"  Woe  is  me  if  I  preach  not  the  Gospel."  He 
loved  to  preach,  and  he  was  afraid  to  do  anything 
else.  He  was  prompt  to  forego  tempting  offers 
of  worldly  position,  and  was  emphatically  "a 
man  of  one  work." 

Dr.  Reid  was  a  good  man.  With  a  sensitive 
nature  that  was  quick  to  feel  the  slightest  touch, 
such  was  the  purity  of  his  motives,  the  correct- 
ness of  his  principles,  the  clearness  of  his  discrim- 
ination along  the  line  of  uprightness,  and  the 
depth  of  his  conviction  that  a  man  should  strive 
always  to  do  right,  that  his  practical  life  was  daily 
in  beautiful  harmony  with  his  preaching.  Even 
in  his  feebleness,  the  very  nerves  of  his  wasting 
body  made  music  to  the  piety  of  his  soul.  He 
preached  experimental  religion,  and  enjoyed  it. 
The  influence  and  witness  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was 
one  of  his  favorite  themes,  because  its  light,  and 
life,  and  love  were  upon  his  own  soul.  Life's  sor- 
rows were  a  burden  to  him,  but  he  "  cast  his  bur- 
den upon  the  Lord,"  and  out  of  the  experimental 
fact  that  he  was   sustained   in   every   trial,    he 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  107 

poured  consolation  into  the  hearts  of  the  afflicted 
up  to  almost  the  very  hour  of  his  death. 

When  death  came,  our  beloved  brother  met  it 
with  calm  resignation.  He  had  hoped  to  labor 
longer  in  the  Lord's  vineyard,  and  be  permitted 
to  train  his  younger  children,  as  he  had  the  elder 
ones,  for  Christ ;  but  a  wise  Providence  decided 
that  his  work  was  done.  Leaving  his  blessing 
upon  his  family  and  the  Church,  in  peaceful  con- 
fidence he  passed  away.  His  morning  opened 
with  cloudless  light — noon  shone  with  meridian 
splendor — a  serene  sunset  soon  followed.  The 
spring  of  his  life  had  sweet  and  beautiful  flowers 
— the  summer  and  autumn  were  laden  with  fruit 
— the  winter  never  came.  The  Christian  warrior 
"fought  the  good  fight,  finished  his  course,  kept 
the  faith,"  and  gained  the  final  victor}^  in  sight  of 
the  "crown  of  righteousness  which  the  Lord,  the 
Righteous  Judge,  shall  give  him  in  that  day.'7 

The  foregoing  extracts  of  memorial  sermons,  of 
obituary  notices,  and  resolutions  of  respect,  of 
different  bodies,  etc.,  are  a  few  selections  from  a 
great  many  of  a  similar  character.  We  have  in 
possession  a  great  many  newspaper  editorials, 
and  also  resolutions  passed  by  various  quarterly 
meeting  Conferences,  and  subordinate  Masonic 
lodges,  as  expressions  of  their  high  regard  and 
affection  for  Dr.  Reid  ;  but  the  writer  considers 
the  foregoing  extracts  a  sufficient  expression  of 


108  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

the  high  estimate  placed  upon  him  by  the  public 
generally.  It  is  questionable  whether  the  public 
mind  in  North  Carolina  has  been  so  deeply  im- 
pressed by  the  life  and  death  of  any  other  man  as 
it  was  by  that  of  Rev.  Numa  F.  Reid,  D.  D.  He 
will  continue  to  live  in  the  memory  and  affections 
of  the  people  of  the  present  generation  in  North 
Carolina.  "  He  spent  his  life  in  doing  good, 
blessed  the  world  while  living,  and  died  regretted 
by  all." 


\S  OF  I|EV.  f  MA  F,  p,  D,  D, 


©he  WuUnU. 


(DELIVERED  BEFORE  THE  N.  C.  CONFERENCE,  AT  ITS  SESSION 
IN  WILMINGTON,  N.  O,  1867.)— Eds. 
"  He  thai  goeth  forth  and  iveepeih,  bearing  precious  seed,  shall  doubtless  come 
again  with  rejoicing,  bringing  his  sheaves  with  Mm." — Psalms,  cxxvi,  6. 


The  author  of  this  Psalm,  whoever  he  was,  a 
fact  not  certainly  known,  alludes  to  the  Israelites 
in  their  captivity  and  return  from  it ;  applies  to 
them  the  figure  of  the  husbandman  sowing  and 
reaping.  Without  stopping  to  define  the  precise 
signification  of  the  text  in  its  application  to  them, 
I,  in  imitation  of  illustrious  examples,  embracing 
even  the  Saviour  himself,  apply  the  figure  em- 
ployed in  the  text  to  the  preachers  of  the  gospel, 
going  forth  with  the  word  of  life  as  seed,  sowing 
in  sorrow  and  tears,  and  finally  from  their  labors 
reaping  a  harvest  of  joy  and  rejoicing.  With 
this  application  the  theme  of  the  discourse  from 
the  text  is,  The  Gospel  Preacher,  his  work  and 
reward. 

The  first  thing  brought  to  our  attention  in  con- 
sidering  the   character    of  the    preacher   of  the 


110  SERMONS. 

Gospel  is  the  manner  of  his  introduction  into  the 
office:  "No  man  taketh  this  honor  unto  himself, 
but  he  that  is  called  of  God,  as  was  Aaron,"  is 
equally  true  of  the  preacher  as  it  was  of  the 
priests.  God  calls,  sets  apart  and  sanctifies  him 
for  this  work  by  the  Holy  Spirit — not  miracu- 
lously by  voice,  or  vision,  or  dream,  but  in- 
wardly moves  and  impresses  and  qualifies  him, 
as  he  in  the  first  instance  moved  him  by  His 
Spirit  to  repentance,  regenerated  him  and  then 
witnessed  to  it  by  His  spirit.  So  in  like  manner 
God  moves  a  man  to  this  work  and  witnesses  to 
this  moving  or  call.  Many  doubtless  mistake  it, 
who  are  not  called.  As  all  regenerated  persons 
are  moved  to  do  good,  some  fall  into  the  error  of 
supposing  the  way  of  doing  most  good  by  them 
is  to  preach  ;  but  he  who  is  called  never  mistakes 
it.  The  sensations  of  a  man  upon  whom  God 
lays  his  great  hand  and  into  whose  spiritual  ear 
the  still  small  voice  whispers  "follow  me,"  are 
strange  and  peculiar,  felt  and  appreciated  only 
by  those  who  have  realized  it.  He  feels  the 
power  of  which  the  Apostle  speaks  working  in 
him  mightily.  By  his  union  with  Christ  in  regen- 
eration, he  beo*an  to  live  the  life  of  Christ,  but 
when  appointed  and  moved  inwardly  to  become 
an  ambassador  for  Christ,  the  spirit  of  the  Master 
in  higher  measure  fell  upon  him — something  of 
the  spirit  that  flamed  in  the  heart  of  the  Son  of 


THE  PASTORATE.  Ill 

Glod  when  about  to  set  out  on  his  mission  to  this 
sin  stricken  world.  The  spirit  falls  upon  him  and 
enwraps  him — takes  him  through  the  passion  of 
the  Saviour — "  I  am  crucified  with  Christ."  Led 
by  the  spirit  he  lies  down  with  Jesus  in  the  man- 
ger, that  he  may  receive  the  requisite  humility, 
tarries  with  him  all  night  long  in  the  garden  for 
the  lesson  of  submission,  stands  by  his  side  on 
the  mountain  tops  to  learn  how  to  resist  tempta- 
tion, is  with  him  amidst  the  clashing  swords  at 
his  capture  for  the  needful  courage,  bears  with 
him  his  cross  through  the  streets  of  Jerusalem 
that  he  may  become  practiced  in  toil — finally, 
goes  with  him  upon  the  cross,  that,  amidst  the 
agonies  of  the  death  hour,  he  may  receive  from 
his  breaking  heart  the  spirit  of  self-sacrifice. 
Here,  hanging  by  his  side  he  feels  his  death  pang 
— his  dying  wail  is  articulated  through  the  cham- 
bers of  his  soul,  his  death  throb  pulsates  through 
his  own  stricken  heart,  and  when  the  dying  G-od 
cries,  "It  is  finished!"  he  breaks  forth,  "woe  is 
me  if  I  preach  not  the  gospel."  "  He  is  also  cru- 
cified unto  the  world  and  the  world  unto  him." 
Here  is  the  reason  of  his  not  counting  his  life 
even  dear  unto  himself.  Thus  the  laying  on  of 
hands  and  the  presentation  of  his  parchment  are 
but  a  small  part  of  his  induction  into  this  office  ; 
these  are  marely  the  counterpart  of  the  in- 
ward anointinor  and  the  commission  written  with 


112  SERMONS. 

fire  on  his  heart.  When  he  is  thus  set  apart  and 
inducted  into  this  office  he  becomes  elevated  in 
all  the  elements  of  genuine  manhood.  His  ca- 
pacity is  enlarged,  his  brain  actually  seems  to  be 
expanded,  his  judgment  becomes  more  strong  and 
vigorous,  his  prudence  is  strengthened,  his  kind- 
ness, gentleness  and  cleverness  in  every  respect 
seem  to  become  more  conspicuous  and  active. 
No  wonder  the  life  he  lives  is  the  life  of  Christ, 
and  he  becomes  fashioned  like  his  great  exemplar. 
This  it  is  that  makes  preachers  as  a  class  better 
than  other  men,  and  this  it  is  that  makes  the 
world  expect  and  require  them  to  be  so.  Thus 
qualified  and  commissioned,  with  Bible  in  hand, 
the  world  is  the  field.  In  delineating  the  charac- 
ter of  the  preacher  of  the  Gospel  I  know  not  how 
better  to  do  than  to  draw  from  the  pattern  given 
us  in  the  lives  of  the  Apostles.  We  have  in 
them  the  genuine  type.  The  words  pastor,  cler- 
gyman, rector,  minister,  in  the  modern  accepta- 
tion at  least,  do  not  express  it.  A  representa- 
tion of  one  of  these  might  give  you  a  nice  picture, 
but  not  a  copy  of  the  original.  This  would  be 
like  going  into  a  gallery  of  art  and  selecting  the 
finest  face  without  reference  to  the  resemblance. 
Preacher-herald  is  the  word.  "Go  ye  into  all 
the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  crea- 
ture." This  is  the  commission.  Anything  that 
contracts  that,  perverts  it.     The  chief  preacher, 


THE  PASTORATE.  113 

the  old  converted  Pharisee  and  Apostle  to  the 
G-entiles,  is  the  best  pattern.     "  Follow  me  as  I 
follow  Christ"  and  his  character  is  exhibited  in 
his  language  as  he  went  following  him,  crying, 
"G-od  forbid  that  I  should  glory  save  in  the  Cross 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."     "Yea,  doubtless,  I 
count  all  things  but  loss  for  the  excellency  of  the 
knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus,  my  Lord."    "I  am  de- 
termined not  to  know  anything  among  you  save 
Jesus  Christ,  and  Him  crucified."     We  have  the 
same  type  reproduced  in  the  Methodist  itinerants 
of  a  century  ago.     They,  forsaking   houses  and 
lands,  home  and  kindred,  took  their  lives  in  their 
hands,  and,  astride  the  saddle-bags   and   ponies, 
went  like  a  flame  of  fire  through   this  country, 
thanking  God  that  they  were  not  born  to  live 
always,   showing  themselves  to  be  the   genuine 
article  out  of  which  martyrs  are  made.     I  tell 
you,  my  brethren,  they  reproduced  the  times  and 
scenes  of  the  apostolic  age,  as  well  as  the  type  of 
character,  save  the  inspiration.     They  governed 
the  Church  and  fed  the  flock,  too — cared  for  it. 
They  did  not  wait  for  parsonages,  nor   carpeted 
aisles,  nor  painted  slips,  nor  orchestra,  nor  bells  ; 
a  few  forks,  and  poles,  and  branches  of  leaves  to 
break  away  the   sun  was  quite  chapel  enough  for 
them.      They   flung   themselves   into   the   living 
tides    of  population  ;    the  highways  and   hedges 
were  their  parishes — the  chambers  of  the  sick, 

6* 


114  SERMONS. 

the  hovels  of  the  poor,  the  cells  of  the  prisoners 
resounded  with  their  prayers,  and  songs,  and  ex- 
hortations. They  struck  at  vice  with  a  giant 
hand  everywhere,  and,  backed  by  the  power  of 
God,  started  an  influence  that  revolutionized  this 
continent,  rekindled  fires  upon  Church  altars  that 
had  long  ago  died  out,  called  into  living  a  health}^ 
moral  sentiment  in  the  public  mind,  laid,  by  their 
heroism,  both  by  precept  and  example,  a  substra- 
tum of  moral  power  that  acts  to-day,  as  little  as 
most  men  may  think  of  it,  as  one  of  the  greatest 
conserving  influences  of  this  country.  God  bless 
the  memory  of  our  fathers  and  breathe  their  spirit 
on  us  !  The  most  sacred  walks  on  this  continent 
are  their  circuit  paths,  the  holiest  spots  are  the 
repositories  where  they  have  been  laid  in  their 
last  sleep,  the  loveliest  flowers  seen  by  mortals 
are  those  that  bloom  above  their  graves,  symbols 
of  their  brighter  glory.  And  when  in  this 
country  they  are  done  building  monuments  to  its 
heroes  and  patriots,  if  full  justice  is  done  to  all 
who  helped  to  lay  the  foundation  of  all  the  na- 
tional splendor  we  once  enjoyed,  and  I  trust  may 
again,  a  shaft  equal  in  magnificence  to  any  will 
appear,  bearing  this  inscription  :  "To  the  found- 
ers and  propagators  of  Methodism  in  America." 

Thus  far,  my  brethren,  I  have  photographed 
what  I  have  conceived  to  be  the  outline  of  the 
gospel  preacher.     The  incompleteness  of  the  pic- 


THE  PASTORATE.  115 

ture,  I  trust,  in  some  measure  at  least,  will  be 
supplied  in  considering  his  work  and  reward. 
We  come  now,  in  the  next  place,  to  notice  his 
work.  And  I  remark  first,  it  is  his  work  to 
preach,  not  read  his  sermons.  No  man  ever 
made  a  first  class  orator  who  read.  Truth  cometh 
by  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the  word  of  God,  and 
this  by  the  mouth  of  the  preacher.  Preaching  is 
the  grand  instrumentality  in  propagating  Chris- 
tianity. I  had  rather  rely  on  preaching  the  pure, 
unadulterated  word,  in  order  to  produce  and  pro- 
mote a  religious  revival,  than  all  other  means  be- 
sides, and  if  the  world  is  ever  brought  to  Christ 
it  must  be  by  what  is  termed  revivals.  Revivals 
make  the  Church  grow  and  spread.  Preaching 
Christ  crucified,  not  poetry,  nor  history,  nor 
science,  only  as  they  serve  to  adorn,  illustrate  and 
attract ;  preaching  the  word  is  his  great  and  chief 
reliance  who  would  successfully  execute  his  office. 
The  word  is  "the  sword  of  the  spirit"  and 
wielded  with  faith  will  cut  its  way  even  to  the 
dividing  asunder  the  soul  and  spirit — the  joints 
and  marrow.  The  preacher  stands  upon  the 
walls,  God's  watchman— his  work  is  heraldic,  his 
is  God's  mouth,  through  him  God  issues  His  edicts 
and  orders,  through  him  issues  His  proclamations 
of-  amnesty  and  pardon,  His  warnings  and  en- 
treaties. God  speaks  to  men  in  no  other  way 
now  and  will  not  until  His  angel  shall  sound  the 
last  trump. 


116  SERMONS. 

His  work  is  also  pastoral.  He  is  the  shepherd 
of  the  spiritual  flock.  It  is  his  duty  as  such,  first, 
to  govern  the  Church.  He  is  appointed  an  over- 
seer by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  the  Church  is  ex- 
horted by  the  Apostle  to  ' '  Eemember  them  who 
have  the  rule  over  you — who  have  spoken  unto 
you  the  word  of  God."  Further,  in  the  same 
epistle,  referring  to  the  same,  he  says  :  "Obey 
them  that  have  the  rule  over  you  and  submit 
yourselves,  for  they  watch  for  your  souls."  The 
constitution  is  formed' — the  legislation  is  all  en- 
acted— now  no  one,  it  seems,  ought  to  doubt  from 
the  teaching  that  the  provisional  arrangement  for 
enforcing  this  legislation  is  devolved  upon  the 
preacher. 

They  may  call  to  their  aid  laymen  as  they  may 
deem  it  prudent  and  necessary.  I  shall  not  stop 
here  to  argue  these  points,  but  assume  them. 
Some  are  silly  enough  to  prate  about  democracy, 
and  aristocracy,  and  monarchy  as  applied  to 
churches.  It  is  mere  cant — clap-trap.  No  one 
but  a  clerical  demagogue  will  do  it.  The  Church 
of  God  is  a  Theocracy,  as  every  intelligent  theo- 
logian knows.  Christ  is  the  Head  of  it.  The 
preachers  stand  in  His  place  in  the  visible  Church 
to  enforce  by  the  sanction  of  His  authority  the 
legislation  already  enacted. 

Care  taking  is  also  involved  in  the  pastoral 
office.     "  Feed  my  sheep  "  is  the  command.     It  is 


THE  PASTORATE.  117 

his  duty  to  guard  and  protect  the  Church.     Not- 
withstanding his  chief  work  is  to  preach,  yet  he 
is   to    do  this  also,  or  he  fails,  though  he  could 
preach  like  an  angel.     The  Apostles  have  set  the 
example  of  going  from   "house  to  house."     It  is 
our  duty  to  follow  it.     Look  after  the  weak,  nurse 
the  babes  in  Christ,  exhort,  comfort,  instruct  and 
reprove  personally.     Men  lose  sight  of  their  re- 
sponsibility in  the  mass.     They  need  to  be  singled 
out.     Some  stray  and  are  to  be  hunted  up.     The 
ninety  and  nine  are  to  be  left  for  a  season  for  this 
purpose.     G-o  into  the  houses  of  the  people  if  you 
would  succeed — sinners  as  well  as  saints.     Rest 
assured   if  you  do  not  your  ministry  will  be  a 
failure.     Your  preaching  may  keep   down  open 
complaint.     You  may,  by  your  intelligence   and 
social   qualities,  maintain   your   popularity  with 
your  leading  men,  whom  you  visit  as  a  matter  of 
convenience.     You  and  your  stewards,  by  good 
financial  tact,  may  get  up  the  salary,  and   there 
may  be  a  spasmodic  sort  of  revival  at  the  pro- 
tracted meeting,  but  if  you  are  a  stranger  to  your 
members,  have  not  been  in  their  houses,  there  is 
nothing  more  sure   than  that  your  ministry  is  a 
failure.     Your  Churches  are  going  down  slowly 
but  surely.     Nothing  conceals  the  fact,  but  that 
you  are  moved  about  from  time  to  time.     I  have 
been  in  a  position  for  the  last  ten  years  to  see 
this.     The  people  tell  me  this  of  a  certain   class 


118  SERMONS. 

of  men  generally — "He  is  a  good  man,  fine 
preacher,  but  he  don't  visit  the  people  ;  we  need 
a  pastor."  I  tell  you,  my  brethren,  with  all  the 
changes  and  improvements  in  our  economy,  here 
lies  the  seat  of  our  disease,  here  is  where  the 
remedy  needs  to  be  applied.  Gro  after  them,  is 
what  is  needed — even  to  the  highways,  hunt  them 
up.  Why,  there  is  a  modern  idea  creeping  into 
our  practice  that  we  are  to  put  ourselves  on  the 
etiquette  of  the  world,  and  wait  even  to  be  in- 
vited. How  absurd  !  Suppose  a  father  should 
wait  for  an  erring  son  to  invite  him  to  look  after 
him?  Suppose  Christ,  the  chief  shepherd,  had 
waited  to  be  invited  before  He  came  to  this 
world  that  slew  Him  for  coming?  We  are  no 
better  than  He.  The  disciple  is  not  above  his 
Lord.  We  need  not  try  to  be  more  polite  and 
genteel  than  He  was.  We  are  to  save  men ;  not 
only  to  suffer  slight  and  insult,  but  die  even,  if 
thereby  they  may  be  kept  out  of  hell,  and  then 
we  shall  fall  far  short  of  doing  a  tithe  of  what 
Christ  has  done  for  us. 

It  is  a  work  of  conflict,  and  requires  courage. 
The  doctrines  he  preaches  and  practices  are  dia- 
metrically opposed  to  the  doctrines  and  practices 
of  the  world.  He  finds  himself  on  the  threshhold 
in  antagonism  with  everything  pretty  much  about 
him.  Christ  said,  "I  came  not  to  send  peace  but 
a  sword."     Especially  now  is  courage  required. 


THE  PASTORATE.  119 

One  of  the  greatest  discounts  on  the  ministry  of 
Christ  at  the  present  time  is  its  popularity  with 
the  world.  Christ  says,  "because  ye  are  not  of 
the  world,  but  I  have  chosen  you  out  of  the 
world,  therefore  the  world  hateth  you."  Who 
hateth  preachers  now  ?  Who  is  persecuted  from 
city  to  city  ?  Crowds  wait  on  the  ministry  every- 
where ;  the  newspapers  praise  them  with  the  same 
breath  that  they  do  the  performances  of  the  forum, 
or  opera,  or  circus.  The  world  and  the  ministry 
seem  to  be  on  the  finest  terms.  Who  has  brought 
about  this  armistice  ?  It  all  grows  out  of  a  lack 
of  courage.  I  know  some  towns  and  neighbor- 
hoods where  the  devil  has  every  preacher  in  the 
place  at  bay.  He  has  his  drinking  saloons,  and 
gambling  hells,  and  houses  of  ill-fame,  all  in  full 
blast,  patronized  and  supported  by  the  men  of 
wealth,  gilded  over  with  fashion  and  kept  in 
countenance  by  public  favor.  Vice,  whenever 
popularized,  goes  untouched  in  the  sacred  desk. 
The  meanwhile  the  pulpit  is  occupied  mainly  in 
splitting  hairs  over  themes,  the  establishment  or 
overthrow  of  which  does  not  a  whit  disturb  the 
equanimity  of  anybody,  when  sin.  in  the  guise 
of  wealth,  or  fashion,  or  family,  has  crept  into  the 
Church  of  G-od,  is  given  a  place  undisturbed. 
Now  in  the  midst  of  this  state  of  things,  genuine 
courage  is  needed  to  enforce  discipline  in  the 
Church  and  break  this  truce  with  the  world.     It 


120  SERMONS. 

requires   courage   to  wrestle  with   principalities 
and    powers   and    spiritual   wickedness   in   high 
places.     It  requires  nerve  to  lay  the  wager  of 
battle  with  the  world,  to  fire  on  its  flag,  to  storm 
its  strong-holds.     What  we  need  now  is  every- 
where an  independent,  manly,  outspoken  pulpit. 
We  need  everywhere  genuine,  old-fashioned  or- 
thodox pluck;   that's  the  word.     Not  that  kind 
of    courage    that   fires    from    a   bomb-proof,    that 
stands  up  as  long  as  the  way  for  retreat  is  kept 
open,  but  that  old-fashioned,  apostolical  pluck  that 
marches  out  into  the  open  field  and  grapples  with 
the   foe   in   a  hand  to  hand  fight — that  asks  no 
quarter  and  gives  none,  that  stakes  its  hopes  for 
time  as  well  as  eternity  upon  the  promise,   "  Lo  ! 
I  am  with  you  always,  even  to  the  end  ;"  that 
can  go  to  the  man  who  lives  in  sin  and  pays  most 
to  his  support  and  tell  him  he  is  a  hypocrite  ;  that 
can  march  through  the   streets  of  these  modern 
Ninevehs  and  cry,  "yet  forty  days,"  &c;  that  can 
stand  upon  the  curb-stones  and  the  steps  of  public 
buildings   and   thunder  the   anathemas   of  God's 
law  into  the  ear  of  vice — raise  mobs  after  them. 
This  is  the  kind  of  courage  that  taketh  the  vic- 
tory.    I  tell   you   the   world  is  never  going  to 
yield  to  a  band  of  cowards.     She  will  never  sur- 
render her  sword  to  men  who  retreat  on  the  first 
display  of  its  glittering  edge.     I  repeat,  the  work 
of  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel  is  one  of  conflict  and 
requires  courage. 


THE  PASTORATE.  121 

It  is  an  intellectual  work.  The  whole  scheme 
of  redemption  came  through  human  brains  and 
must  reissue  through  human  brains.  Faith  com- 
eth  by  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the  mouth  and 
mind  of  the  preacher.  There  is  much  in  God's 
word  that  is  assumed.  The  facts  are  simply 
stated.  Many  of  them  need  to  be  explained  and 
supported  by  argument- — are  liable  to  miscon- 
struction and  objection  without  it.  Instead  of 
giving  all  these  explanations  and  arguing  out  at 
length  every  assumption  through  the  instrumen- 
talities employed  for  revelation,  God  has  chosen 
simply  to  lay  down  the  text  of  the  argument  and 
has  instituted  his  ministry  for  the  purpose  of  ex- 
plaining and  maintaining  his  assumptions.  He 
has  given  the  preacher  whom  he  calls  to  the 
work,  mind  for  it.  He  calls  and  sanctifies  men 
of  intellectual  capacity  for  this  business — no  other 
class  of  men  is  equal  to  it.  God  never  did  call  a 
man  to  preach  that  did  not  have  the  brains  to  do 
the  work,  and  it  is  time  for  us  to  quit  that  inter- 
pretation, commonly  placed  upon  it,  "that  He 
has  chosen  the  foolish  things  of  this  world  to  con- 
found the  wise."  It  is  the  weak  and  foolish,  so 
called,  used  in  the  sense  of  the  terms  ' '  foolishness 
of  preaching."  Preaching  Christ  crucified  was 
foolishness  to  the  Greeks,  but  the  power  of  God 
to  the  believer.  There  is  not  an  instance  on 
record  where  God  chose  even  a  moderate  man  to 


122  SERMONS. 

do  anything  or  represent  him  in  any  department. 
True  there  were  not  many  wise  men  after  the 
flesh,  not  many  noble  men,  not  many  philosophers, 
not  many  of  royal  blood.  Many  were  unlearned 
in  worldly  wisdom,  but  this  lack  was  more  than 
counterbalanced  by  natural  endowment.  If  He 
wanted  history  written,  He  selected  for  the  pur- 
pose a  man  that  could  weave  facts  together  in 
story,  and  delineate  events  and  character  in  such 
life-like  pictures  that  they  will  live  through  all 
time.  If  He  wanted  his  praise  hymned  in  verse, 
He  appoiuted  the  finest  poetic  genius  to  the  task. 
If  He  wanted  a  prophet  to  lift  the  curtain  and  un- 
fold future  events,  He  laid  hold  upon  old  seers 
that  one  would  almost  think  might  have  done 
respectably  at  the  business  without  inspiration. 
If  He  wanted  an  argument,  he  selected  the  best 
logician  to  make  it.  If  He  wanted  preachers, 
though  He  choose  fishermen  and  tentmakers,  yet, 
gracious  heavens,  what  meu  they  were!  Brains 
are  needed  now  to  preach  the  G-ospel.  Brains  in 
which  the  bolt  is  to  be  forged  with  which  G-od 
breaks  the  sinner's  heart.  Brains  from  which  hot 
shot  is  to  be  thrown  into  the  intrenchments  of  the 
devil,  and  chain  shot  of  logic  to  the  sweeping  down 
of  the  phalanxes  of  intellectual  opposition.  And 
the  work  requires  that  the  mind  be  kept  in  constant 
working  order.  Old  truths  are  to  be  brought  out 
in  new  dress,  the  time-honored  fundamental  doc- 


THE  PASTORATE.  123 

trines  are  to  be  presented  in  attractive  style — 
style  apace  with  the  progress  of  the  age.  The 
preacher  who  hath  not  respect  to  this  will  soon  find 
himself  inefficient.  The  preacher  who  preaches 
the  same  old  sermons  in  the  same  old-fashioned 
way,  uses  the  same  old  skeletons  and  notes  he  did 
fifteen  or  twenty  years  ago,  without  any  alteration, 
is  like  a  man  who  goes  into  battle  with  an  old 
field-piece  that  has  been  lying  in  the  arsenal  be- 
tween the  wars,  with  saltpetre  all  caked  in  the 
pan  or  in  the  muzzle,  all  foul  with  rust  in  the 
bore  ;  it  may  make  a  thundering  noise  when  fired, 
but  no  enemy  lies  dead  on  the  field  from  that 
piece,  you  may  be  sure.  To  be  efficient,  a  preach- 
er must  keep  the  rust  off  his  brain — mould  his  old 
lead  over— throw  his  old  gun  away — get  a  new 
one — use  improved  arms.  What  would  you  think 
of  a  lawyer  who  would  use  his  old  briefs  in  arguing 
his  new  cases,  or  a  physician  who  would  use  his 
old  prescriptions  of  twenty  years  ago  to  meet  the 
new  types  of  diseases  of  to-day  ?  We  hear  it 
sometimes  stated  in  the  council  of  a  man  of  this 
class  that  he  is  a  capital  man — safe,  prudent,  fine 
sense,  and  of  great  success  in  former  years ;  yet 
the  best  circuits  don't  want  him.  It  becomes  dif- 
ficult to  provide  for  him.  He  is  not  worn  out,  but 
is  about  to  rust  out.  That  old  material  that  he  is 
using  is  very  good  indeed,  but  it  has  had  its  day. 
The  people  are  familiar  with  it.     His  stock  of  ser- 


124  SERMONS. 

mons  is  out  of  fashion,  stale,  dry,  dead,  and  the 
people  want  something  new,  fresh.  Not  a  new 
doctrine,  but  new  clothes  for  it  to  wear.  God 
seems  to  have  constituted  us  thus,  and  He  minis- 
ters Himself  to  this  peculiarity  of  ours  in  painting 
the  sky  with  new  hues  and  fresh  tints  evening  and 
morning,  in  constantly  regarnishing  the  heavens, 
in  rerobing  the  earth  each  year  in  a  new  dress, 
after  folding  and  laying  away  in  oblivion  each 
autumn  the  richest  vestures.  Turn  your  eye  down 
to  Georgia.  What  is  it  that  gives  that  old  man  of 
four  score  all  the  freshness  of  youth?  Nothing 
but  that  he  reads,  and  writes,  and  thinks  on  like  a 
youth.  By  the  dint  of  study  and  application  he 
has  overleaped  the  boundary  separating  his  gene- 
ration from  this,  and  after  burying  his  colleagues 
he  flings  himself  into  the  arena  of  the  rising  race 
and  holds  his  place  in  the  foremost  rank.  Let  the 
example  of  Lovick  Pierce  inspire  all  our  hearts 
with  intellectual  zeal  and  energy,  which  shall  re- 
juvenate us  and  glow  on  as  brightly  in  us  as  in 
him  until  our  task  is  done.  It  is  quite  a  mistake 
that  what  suits  one  age  will  suit  another.  The 
devil  is  constantly  changing  his  plans,  shifting  his 
mode  of  attacks,  altering  his  defences,  getting  up 
new  arguments  answering  ours. 

There  is  another  mistake  quite  prevalent, 
equally  erroneous,  that  the  judgment  is  con- 
vinced, and  all  that  is  necessary  to  move  men 


THE  PASTORATE.  125 

to  repentance  is  to  excite  their  emotional  na- 
ture. It  is  all  a  mistake  that  this  or  any  other 
is  the  hortatory  age,  when  a  song  will  answer 
as  well  as  a  sermon,  when  a  pathetic  story  is  equal 
to  two  good  arguments,  when  a  man  can  be  sung 
into  the  Church  or  floated  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  on  a  wave  of  tears.  I  tell  you  the  great 
trouble  is  cast  on  the  intellect.  The  will  refuses 
the  proper  means  of  informing  the  intellect ;  the 
judgment,  consequently,  is  warped  by  false  mo- 
tives, and  the  conscience  is  kept  all  the  time  mak- 
ing wrong  decisions  from  a  want  of  a  correct  state- 
ment of  all  the  facts — approving,  when  it  should 
and  would  condemn,  if  correctly  informed.  The 
conscience  in  every  case  is  all  right,  and  will  al- 
ways decide  right,  if  the  facts  are  given  to  it  cor- 
rectly. This  is  not  done.  Here  lies  the  difficulty 
with  all  men.  You  make  a  man  cry  under  such 
circumstances  with  a  pathetic  story  simply,  and 
he  is  decidedly  damaged ;  his  very  tears  blind  his 
conscience,  for  he  represents  to  it  that  crying  is 
something.  Here  is  the  field  in  which  the  preach- 
er may  lay  himself  out  intellectually  to  his  full 
length  and  rise  to  his  full  height.  Here  is  enough 
work  for  him  to  do — to  cut  his  way  into  the  court 
of  conscience  by  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  by  the 
edge  of  an  irresistible  logic  untie  gordian  knots  of 
sophistry  b}r  which  the  entrance-way  is  netted ; 
clear  the  passages  to  the  inner  court  and  lead  in 


126  SERMONS. 

the  light ;  thrust  the  witnesses  into  the  presence 
of  the  judge  as  the  attorney  for  heaven's  common- 
wealth ;  let  the  judgment  see  that  the  will  is  per- 
verse, refusing  the  means  of  correct  information, 
and  in  this  way  palms  a  cheat  off  on  the  con- 
science. Here  is  the  field.  I  know  that  men  do 
not  now  nor  ever  have  needed  to  be  convinced 
that  there  is  a  God  ;  that  there  will  be  a  judgment ; 
that  there  is  a  heaven  or  a  hell ;  that  it  is  better 
to  be  in  heaven  than  in  hell.  Any  fool  knows 
this.  But  they  need  to  be  shown  that  they  are 
not  going  to  heaven.  Most  men  expect  to  go  to 
heaven  as  confidently  as  any  of  us.  They  are 
living  in  a  vain  show  ;  have  palliated  their  cases  ; 
put  in  special  pleas  to  their  consciences,  until  they 
have  come  to  think  that  their  way  leads  to  heaven, 
or  that  they  will  at  least  get  into  the  way  that 
leads  there  before  they  die ;  that  just  now  the}^ 
are  doing  about  as  well  as  could  be  done  under 
the  circumstances.  I  repeat,  here  is  the  field  for 
intellectual  work  for  the  preacher.  Let  the  sin- 
ner's judgment  be  correctly  informed,  arouse  his 
conscience,  appeal  his  case  properly  to  it,  get  the 
voice  of  its  condemnation  thundered  into  his  ear, 
and  he  will  not  walk  on  quiet  paths  until  his  feet 
are  turned  to  the  testimonies  of  the  Lord. 

Again,  it  is  an  intellectual  work,  in  that  the 
preacher  is  to  go  into  G-od's  treasury  and  bring 
out  things  new  and  old.    He  is  to  take  the  historic 


THE  PASTORATE.  127 

example  -which  God  himself  has  selected  from  the 
lives  of  all  his  Saints,  and  has  put  on  record,  and 
make  it  live  again  before  the  eye  of  Faith.  He 
is  to  take  up  the  arguments  that  underlie  the  be- 
liefs of  his  people,  and  reforge  and  relink  them. 
He  is  to  take  the  harp  and  lyre  of  the  inspired  old 
bard,  and  rechant  the  poetry  and  song  of  Heaven 
in  the  ear  of  hope.  More  than  this  :  by  what  is 
known  he  is  to  rise  to  the  unknown,  take  the 
lines  of  thought  connecting  the  visible  with  the 
invisible,  and  ascending  some  Pisgah's  top  and 
straining  the  eye  of  faith  afar,  he  is  to  catch 
glimpses  of  the  Heavenly  Canaan,  and  repicture 
them  on  Spiritual  canvass  for  the  edification  and 
confirmation  of  God's  elect.  More  than  this  :  he 
is  to  take  the  Pilgrims  themselves  upon  the  sum- 
mits of  the  Delectable  Mountains — mountains  of 
electrified  thought,  and  holding  the  perspective 
glass  steadily  to  their  eyes,  let  them  see  the 
golden  gates  and  towering  spires  of  the  celestial 
city,  and  at  least  some  of  the  glory  of  the  place. 
In  a  word,  it  is  the  highest  intellectual  work,  in 
that  it  is  the  grandest  task  essayed  by  the  intel- 
lect to  teach  men  how  to  live  and  be  happy,  how 
to  die  and  depart  in  peace,  and  standing  at  the 
dreaded  tomb,  flash  the  light  of  God's  promises 
across  the  dark  valley. 

Again,  it  is  a  progressive  work.  In  the  natural 
world,  the  law  of  generation,  growth,  and  fructifi- 


128  SERMONS. 

cation  governs  everything.  The  bread  of  your 
morning's  meal  was  a  few  months  ago  peeping  up 
beneath  the  clod,  a  tender  sprout.  The  shade 
tree  stretching  its  branches  above  your  windows, 
and  cooling  the  air  in  its  bowery  chambers  before 
turning  it  into  your  parlors,  a  short  time  ago  was 
a  tender  shrub  you  cultivated  with  care  and  solici- 
tude. These  strong  men  a  short  time  ago  were 
laughing  or  crying  in  their  cradles,  as  the  case 
was  ;  then  they  were  tossing  the  ball  or  following 
the  hoop  ;  then  poring  over  their  books  ; — now  see 
what  they  are.  So  in  science.  Take  language. 
At  first  how  few  words  expressed  all  the  ideas  men 
had ;  now  there  are  hundreds  of  tongues,  thous- 
ands of  dialects,  and  tens  of  thousands  of  words 
expressing  the  nicest  shades  of  thought,  fit  for 
converse,  for  eloquence,  and  song.  Take  also  the 
science  of  astronomy.  At  first  it  could  not  be  de- 
termined whether  the  earth  was  round  or  flat ; 
whether  it  revolved  around  the  sun  or  the  sun 
around  the  earth.  Now  the  astronomer  is  as 
familiar  with  the  paths  of  the  heavenly  bodies  as 
he  is  with  the  walks  of  his  own  yard  or  garden. 
Even  the  rudest  comet  that  returns  at  all  in  its 
wild  flight,  cannot  conceal  the  time  of  its  coming, 
and  such  is  the  perfection  to  which  the  science  has 
been  carried  that  even  now,  after  the  heavens 
have  been  swept  for  centuries  by  the  keenest  eyes 
of  observation,  ever  and  anon  new  worlds  are  dis- 


THE  PASTORATE. 


129 


covered  whose  distant  spheres  seem  to  tremble 
upon  the  very  verge  of  infinity  itself,  and  whose 
distant  orbits  seem  to  constitute  the  very  bounda- 
ries of  space.  Our  globe  itself  furnishes  a  most 
striking  illustration  cof  this  principle.  At  first  it 
was  a  ball  of  molten  liquid  matter.  Radiating  its 
heat,  it  cooled  gradually;'  a  crust  formed ;  then  ani- 
mals and  plants  ;  then  it  became  a  fit  abode  for 
man  ;  the  evidence  of  all  which  it  bears  written  on 
granite  in  its  own  bosom.  The  process  has  gone 
on  until  now  it  flies  through  its  orbit  bearing  upon 
its  surface  oceans  and  seas,  lakes  and  rivers, 
islands  and  continents,  cities  and  hamlets — a  mag- 
nificent orb,  teeming  with  life  and  sparkling  with 
beauty. 

So  Christianity  is  a  growth.  At  first  God 
sowed  it  in  the  promise,  "The  seed  of  the 
woman  shall  bruise  the  serpent's  head."  It  was 
sown  time  and  again  under  the  ceremonial  law  ; 
reaped  amid  the  types  and  symbols  of  the  Jewish 
code,  and  finally  the  harvest  in  the  old  dispensa- 
tion was  gathered  at  the  table  in  the  same  night  in 
which  He  was  betrayed.  The  seed  was  then 
resown  on  Calvary,  was  enriched  by  the  blood  of 
a  dying  G-od,  struck  its  roots  deep  in  the  hearts  of 
humanity.  Its  leaf  has  opened  in  every  age,  and 
almost  every  clime.  It  has  been  sown  and  resown. 
There  has  not  been  an  hour  since  the  first  seed 
time,  that  it  has  not  been  growing,  growing.     Men 

7 


130  SERMONS. 

sometimes  think  truth  is  retrograding- — that  Chris- 
tianity is  waning  in  the  world.  It  is  quite  a  mis- 
take. That  that  men  call  decay — decline — is  but 
the  Autumn  and  Winter  of  its  germination.  Men 
lose  sight  of  it  then.  Garner  full  after  garner 
full  of  wheat  is  thrown  from  the  hand  and  covered 
with  the  harrow.  Men  lose  sight  of  it ;  it  looks 
as  if  labor,  seed  and  all  were  gone.  But  after 
awhile  the  Spring  ray  unlocks  the  fastenings  of 
the  forests,  and  dissolves  their  grasp  ;  the  warm 
shower  moistens  the  tender  root,  and  genial 
breaths  invite  it  up.  Presently  the  spreading 
acres  are  carpeted  with  green,  and  in  due  time  the 
golden  harvest  invites  the  reaper's  sickle.  Men 
lose  sight  of  truth  as  we  do  of  the  sunshine  and 
shower  of  yesterday ;  we  fail  to  recognize  them  in 
the  bursting  bud  and  expanding  flower  of  to-day. 
It  needs,  therefore,  just  what  we  have  had,  ever 
and  anon,  some  colossal  minds,  as  Luther,  Knox, 
Wesley,  shooting  up  like  pillars  of  fire  to  consti- 
tute light  houses  on  the  coasts  of  the  empire  of 
truth.  Germination  and  growth  is  the  grand  law 
of  the  Christian  system ;  progress — development 
— its  grand  characteristic. 

Spiritual  truths  sown  in  intellectual  fields  cen- 
turies ago  are  bursting  into  the  full  harvest  in  this 
age.  John  Wesley  sowed  in  the  coal  pits,  in  the 
lanes  of  the  cities,  in  Georgia  on  this  continent, 
and  the  two  millions  of  communicants  that  kneel 


THE  PASTORATE.  131 

at  Methodist  altars  to-day  are  a  part  of  the  crop 
from  this  sowing.  Martin  Luther,  on  the  31st 
day  of  October,  1817,  nailed  upon  the  door  of  the 
Church  at  Wittemburg,  ninety-five  theses  against 
the  doctrine  of  indulgence,  and  the  present  Pope 
is  reeling  under  the  blow  struck  by  the  great  Re- 
former on  that  day.  Theories  are  constantly  ex- 
ploding, and  systems  thought  to  be  well  established 
are  upheaved  by  revolution,  and  new  ideas  and 
theories  come  up.  Time  is  the  grand  developer  of 
truth,  and  every  hour  is  but  the  birth-time  of  some 
phase  of  it.  The  history  of  the  world,  when  it 
comes  rightly  to  be  understood,  is  but  a  history  of 
the  war  between  truth  and  falsehood — and  all 
truth  centres  in  Christianity — between  reality  and 
semblance.  All  this  noise  in  the  world,  these 
revolutions  and  explosions,  this  flowing  of  blood, 
falling  of  tears,  shouting  and  sighs,  printing  of 
books,  sweeping  the  heavens  with  magnifying 
tubes,  disemboweling  the  earth,  talking  with  elec- 
tric accent,  are  but  the  heraldic  notes  of  the  on- 
ward march  of  truth  to  ultimate  triumph,  and 
when  truth  triumphs  Christ  shall  reign. 

Look  out  upon  the  harvest  waving ;  the  corn 
begins  already  to  come  in  the  ear.  Christian 
truth  never  was  held  so  clearly  by  the  masses  as 
now.  There  never  was  on  the  earth  at  any  one  time 
so  many  men  that  knew  what  Christianity  is  as 
there  are  to-day.     It  is  the  mustard  seed  growing 


132  SERMONS. 

into  a  great  tree,  beneath  the  branches  of  which 
men  are  coming  to  sit.  If  it  appears  barren  to 
any,  it  may  be  the  last  winter  of  its  disrobing. 
The  next  spring  time  may  be  the  immediate  har- 
binger of  the  grand  final  harvest.  Your  work, 
my  brethren,  is  to  make  it  grow,  make  it  spread, 
make  it  yield.  Every  sermon  you  preach,  ac- 
cepted of  God,  is  but  a  bud  on  this  tree,  the 
germ  of  the  coming  fruit.  Every  prayer  you 
offer  is  but  an  embryo  leaf  covering  that  bud. 
Every  hymn  }tou  sing  is  but  the  flower  that  pre- 
cedes the  fruit.  Every  tear  you  shed  is  but  the 
dewdrop  in  its  cup.  Every  sigh  you  heave  is 
but  the  atmosphere  for  maturing  it.  No  wonder 
it  grows.  All  the  devils  in  hell  and  all  their 
agents  on  earth  can't  stop  it  now.  It  will  be  a 
wonder  if  it  does  not  soon  fling  its  shadow  over 
the  whole  earth. 

Now  for  his  reward.  A  few  words  are  suffi- 
cient for  this.  "Shall,  doubtless,  come  again  with 
rejoicing,  bringing  his  sheaves  with  him."  Shall 
come  to  rest  and  luxuriate,  bringing  the  fruit  of 
his  toil  along.  Has  he  aspirations?  Does  he 
love  fame — distinction?  It  is  all  right ;  only  let 
him  keep  it  elevated.  He  may  be  brimfull  of  it 
if  he  will  only  give  it  its  true  object.  Does  he 
long  for  rest,  cessation  from  toil?  Does  he  wish 
to  exchange  his  weeping  for  rejoicing?  Does  he 
want  a  home,  a  house  ?     Let  him  sow  now  in  vales 


THE  PASTORATE.  133 

with  tears — sow  in  cabins — let  handfuls  be  sown 
in  the  abodes  of  misery — stock  the  highway  fur- 
rows, try  some  year  the  rock,  scatter  it  in  palaces, 
and  "  in  due  season  he  shall  reap  if  he  faint  not." 
When  the  great  harvest  comes ;  when  the  reapers 
descend  ;  when  the  pomp  of  this  world  shall  pale 
before  the  second  coming ;  when  the  waning 
splendor  of  the  crumbling  thrones  of  earth  shall 
be  brought  in  contrast  with  that  which  shall  de- 
scend from  above  ;  "when  victors'  wreaths  and 
monarchs'  gems "  shall  be  overshadowed  by 
crowns  that  outglitter  a  universe  of  suns  ;  when 
the  men  who  have  gone  down  under  the  drum- 
roll  and  cannon's  boom,  whose  death  draped  em- 
pires in  mourning,  shall  wake  up  from  beneath 
their  monuments  of  brass  and  marble,  astounded 
and  amazed  to  find  them,  as  they  are,  toppling  and 
falling  symbols  of  their  folly  and  testimonials  of 
their  perverted  aspiration  ;- — Oh,  then  he,  and  you, 
and  all  God's  preachers,  shall  come  rejoicing, 
bringing  your  sheaves  with  you.  Then  will  be 
seen  what  is  the  true  good.  That  will  be  your 
time.  You  are  the  men  of  importance  then. 
That  will  be  the  time  when  you  will  figure.  I  had 
rather  be  one  of  you  then,  even  the  humblest,  I 
am  sure,  than  he  who  has  gained  the  whole  world. 
Let  us  go  forward,  if  we  can,  to  the  scene.  There 
see  an  old  yoke-fellow  in  the  gospel ;  I  have 
seen  him  before,  heard  him  preach,  was  but  little 


134  SERMONS. 

impressed  ;  saw  him  die,  passed  his  tomb,  read 
the  inscription — it  was  a  plain  stone,  smoothed 
and  sculptured  by  unskilful  hands — it  read  : 
"  In  memory  of  Rev.  John  Faithful.  He  was  a 
plain,  unassuming  man,  limited  in  education, 
but  of  good  native  talent ;  holy  and  devoted  to 
his  work  ;  the  widow's  friend  and  orphan's  bene- 
factor ;  he  sowed  in  tears  and  died  in  peace." 
There  he  is,  see !  who  are  those  by  his  side  ?  wo- 
men and  children  ?  They  look  like  sheaves  ;  now 
they  are  changing  into  stars  and  are  being  set  in 
a  crown.  What  a  crown !  My  God,  is  it  not  a 
good  time  for  him !  There  are  others  there  we 
know.  Hezekiah  Leigh,  Compton,  Brane,  Rich, 
Bumpass,  Brent,  Nesbit,  Newby,  Nicholson.  They 
all  have  their  sheaves  with  them,  and  there  are 
their  crowns,  and  harps,  and  palms,  and  they 
are  all  singing  "  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  died," 
"Redeeming  love — all  for  love  of  us."  Ah,  my 
brethren,  if  I  am  so  fortunate  as  to  be  numbered 
in  that  company,  I  tell  you  what  I  intend  to  say, 
if  no  one  else  says  it  first — the  first  lull  that 
comes  in  the  song  I  intend  to  say  : — 

"  Angels  assist  our  mighty  joys, 

Strike  all  your  harps  of  gold, 
But  when  you  raise  your  highest  notes, 

His  love  can  ne'er  be  told." 


THE  M.  E.  CHURCH  SOUTH.  135 


®he  ffi,  (&.  &h\m\x  j^mttft. 


"  If  I  forget  thee,  0  Jerusalem,  let  my  right  hind  forget  her  cunning.  If 
I  do  not  remember  thee,  let  my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth;  if  I 
prefer  not  Jerusalem  above  my  chief  joy." — Psalms,  cxxxvii.   5,  6. 


Jerusalem  is  used  by  the  inspired  writer  as  a 
type,  a  symbol  of  the  Church,  militant  and  tri- 
umphant. The  attachment  of  the  Jew  to  Jerusa- 
lem, both  in  her  prosperity  and  adversity,  fitly 
represents  the  devotion  of  the  Christian  to  the 
Church  of  Christ.  The  strong  expression  of  at- 
tachment and  preference  in  the  hour  of  adversity 
in  the  text,  is  very  strikingly  typical  of  the  devo- 
tion of  a  true  Southern  Methodist  to  that  branch 
of  the  Christian  Church  founded  under  Grod  by 
his  fathers. 

With  this  application  of  the  text,  the  first  point 
I  raise  is,  that  the  memories  of  the  past  in  con- 
nection with  the  M.  E.  Church  South  tend  con- 
stantly to  strengthen  and  keep  alive  our  attach- 
ment and  devotion  to  her.  The  M.  E.  Church 
South  dates  her  origin  as  a  distinct  ecclesiastical 
organization  to  the  Convention  which  assembled 
in  Louisville  in  the  year  1845,  composed  of  dele- 
gates from  all  the  Southern  Conferences  of  the 
slaveholding  States,  except  Maryland  and  Dela- 
ware.    It  is  thought  by  many  that  we  should  en- 


136  SERMONS. 

deavor  to  forget  this  part  of  our  history,  as  by 
this  act  the  M.  E.  Church  South  set  the  example 
and  paved  the  way  to  the  attempt  to  dissolve  the 
political  union  of  the  country,  and  there  are  to  be 
found  those  who  have  undertaken  to  attach  much 
of  the  blame  of  our  recent  national  struggle  to  the 
M.  E.  Church  South.  Now,  I  wish  briefly  to  call 
attention  to  the  facts  of  history  in  her  connection 
with  this  subject,  and  it  will  appear  that  instead 
of  occasion  to  wish  to  forget,  blot  out  the  record, 
every  act  of  the  M.  E.  Church  South  reflects 
credit  and  honor  upon  her  as  a  branch  of  the 
Christian  Church,  and  not  only  will  the  enlight- 
ened judgment  of  posterity  so  pronounce,  but  all 
who  will  now  take  the  pains  to  impartially  review 
the  facts  will  so  adjudge.  What  are  those  facts? 
Of  course  I  shall  not  go  into  details.  In  1780, 
when  there  were  only  twenty-four  preachers  who 
agreed  to  sit  in  Conference  on  the  original  plan 
as  Methodists,  they  commenced  to  legislate  on 
the  question  of  slavery.  They  required  travel- 
ling preachers  who  held  slaves  to  free  them,  de- 
claring slavery  to  be  contrary  to  "the  laws  of 
God,  and  man,  and  nature."  They  condemned 
laymen  who  owned  slaves,  and  advised  them  to 
free  them.  This  was  the  character  of  the  first 
movement  on  the  subject.  They  soon  found  this 
subject  to  be  a  perplexing,  dangerous  and  trouble- 
some one.     It  brought  them  in  conflict  with  the 


THE  M.  E.  CHURCH  SOUTH.  137 

laws  of  the  whole  country,  for  slavery  then  ex- 
isted in  nearly  every  State  or  colony.  The}7, 
consequently,  soon  found  it  necessary  to  suspend 
and  change  their  enactments,  to  live  at  all  as  a 
Church.  So  they  took  the  ground  that  where  the 
laws  of  a  State  did  not  permit  emancipation  they 
would  not  require  it.  This  was  the  ground  taken 
in  1784 — reiterated  in  1796,  and  again  in  1800. 
In  1808  the  General  Conference,  finding  the  sub- 
ject of  slaveholding  among  the  laymen  entirely 
unmanageable,  abolished  all  rules  in  reference  to 
it,  leaving  it  with  the  Annual  Conferences  to  reg- 
ulate the  matter  by  their  own  action.  But  again, 
in  1816,  the  General  Conference  declared  all 
slaveholders  ineligible  to  any  official  station  in 
the  Church  in  any  State  in  which  emancipation 
was  allowed,  and  the  manumitted  slave  permitted 
to  enjoy  freedom,  but  in  States  where  emancipa- 
tion was  not  permitted  this  rule  should  be  inop- 
erative. This  principle  was  recognized  in  1836 
to  1840.  In  the  address  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence of  1840  to  the  British  Wesleyan  Conference, 
the  following  language  is  used  on  this  subject : 
"It  is  impossible  to  frame  a  rule  on  slavery 
proper  for  all  our  people  in  all  the  States  alike. 
But  our  Church  is  extended  through  all  the  States, 
and  as  it  would  be  wrong  and  unscriptural  to 
enact  rules  of  discipline  in  opposition  to  the  con- 
stitution and  laws  of  the  State,  on  this  subject,  so, 


138  SERMONS. 

also,  it  would  not  be  equitable  to  confound  the 
position  of  our  ministers  and  people  with  respect 
to  the  moral  question  which  slavery  involves." 

Now  it  will  be  observed,  that  the  South  from 
the  beginning  yielded  everything,  went  to  the 
greatest  extremes  to  satisfy  the  anti-slavery  men. 
It  does  not  appear  that  they  opposed  emancipa- 
tion when  proposed,  and  I  doubt  not  that  if  the 
laws  had  allowed,  the  Methodist  Church  would 
have  been  an  anti-slavery  Church.  Emancipation 
was  undertaken  at  one  time  under  the  superin- 
tendency  of  the  venerable  Dr.  Coke,  and  it  was 
found  to  be  so  impracticable  and  ruinous  that  Dr. 
Coke  himself  abandoned  it.  I  tell  you  from  the 
history  of  the  Church  the  anti-slavery  men  had  it 
their  own  wa}r,  and  when  they  rescinded,  it  was 
on  account  of  the  laws  and  sentiment  of  the  coun- 
try, which  were  beyond  their  control.  The  men 
of  the  South  were  willing  to  sacrifice  everything 
on  the  altar  of  the  Church. 

Again,  it  will  be  observed,  that  the  Conferences 
of  the  Church  for  sixty  years — from  1788  to  1844 
— had  recognized  the  principle  that  manumission 
was  impracticable  when  the  laws  of  the  State  did 
not  allow  it ;  that  antagonism  with  the  powers  that 
be  was  unscriptural.  This  was  the  position  of  the 
Church,  I  repeat,  for  sixty  years  prior  to  1844 — 
the  South  accepting  this,  and  acting  upon  it.  The 
General  Conference  assembled  in  New  York  in 


THE  M.  E.   CHURCH  SOUTH.  139 

May,  1844.  Au  appeal  case  was  brought  from 
Baltimore.  A  man  by  the  name  of  Harding  had 
been  suspended  for  not  manumitting  his  slaves. 
Harding  lived  in  Maryland — and  Maryland  did 
not  allow  emancipation.  The  General  Conference, 
right  in  the  face  of  sixty  years'  practice  and  sixty 
years'  legislation,  confirmed  the  action  of  the  Bal- 
timore Conference,  and  left  the  appellant  suspen- 
ded. The  Rev.  Mr.  Collins,  the  representative  of 
the  Baltimore  Conference,  denounced  the  laws  of 
his  State,  and  declared  that  they  did  not  regard 
nor  would  be  governed  by  such  legislation.  The 
Southern  delegates  bore  this,  though  they  were 
uneasy  and  apprehensive,  yet  there  is  no  evidence 
that  they  would  not  have  borne  this  for  the  sake  of 
the  peace  of  the  Church.  But  they  did  not  stop 
at  this.  They  opened  their  batteries  on  Bishop 
Andrew,  and  waged  the  war  on  the  South  through 
him.  He  married  a  lady  who  owned  some  slaves. 
They  demanded  that  he  should  free  them — though 
the  laws  of  his  State,  Georgia,  expressly  forbade 
it.  In  the  face  of  sixty  years'  legislation,  in  the 
face  of  the  prohibition  of  the  laws  of  Georgia, 
they  demanded  that  he  should  cease  to  be 
Bishop,  or  free  those  negroes.  This  was  the 
only  point  against  him.  All  testified  to  the  pu- 
rity of  his  character  and  the  efficiency  and 
faithfulness  of  his  life  in  the  discharge  of  the 
duties    of    his    office.      The    conservative    men 


140  SERMONS. 

North  joined  with  the  South  to  compromise. 
The  whole  South  seemed  conservative— aston- 
ishing !  The  Southern  men  seemed  especially 
sustained  by  the  grace  of  God.  They  loved 
the  Church  —  they  loved  the  peace  of  the 
Church.  Let  Dr.  Stephen  Olin,  the  greatest  man 
of  the  North,  aye,  of  the  whole  Church,  who 
lived  and  voted  with  the  North,  testify  as  to  this. 
In  a  powerful  speech  on  the  floor  of  the  General 
Conference,  he  said  :  "If  they  concede  what  the 
Northern  brethren  wish — if  they  concede  that 
holding  slaves  is  incompatible  with  holding  their 
ministry,  they  may  as  well  go  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains  as  to  their  own  sunny  plains.  The 
people  would  not  bear  it.  They  feel  shut  up  to 
their  principles  on  this  point.  They  love  the 
cause,  and  would  serve  God  in  their  work.  I 
believe  there  is  not  a  man  among  them  that 
would  not  make  every  sacrifice,  and  even  die  if 
thereby  he  could  heal  the  division."  Our  men 
answered  that  they  were  ready  to  make  any  con- 
cession or  compromise  that  would  not  destroy  the 
Church  in  the  South — that  if  division  should 
come  it  should  be  forced  upon  them.  The  fanat- 
ical majority  would  hear  nothing.  They  had  laid 
down  the  programme,  and  they  intended  to  carry 
it  out.  Many  of  them  when  they  came  to  the 
yawning  chasm  took  fright  and  would,  if  they 
could,    have    drawn    back,  but  they  had    raised 


TEE  M.  E.  CHURCH  SOUTH.  141 

a  storm  at  home  which  they  could  not,  if 
they  would,  control,  and  they  pushed  the 
movement  on  to  consummation.  They  declared 
that  Bishop  Andrew  should  not  exercise  his 
office  until  he  did  what  the  laws  of  his  State 
forbade  him  to  do.  That  was  the  amount  of 
their  action.  Dr.  Capers,  in  behalf  of  the 
South,  still  loth  to  separate  altogether,  proposed 
to  change  the  government  of  the  Church  so  as  to 
have  two  General  Conferences,  but  having  an  ec- 
clesiastical union  that  would  enable  them  to  work 
in  harmonious  relations.  This  proposition  was 
referred  to  a  committee  of  nine,  and  the  commit- 
tee was  instructed  finally  to  report  a  plan  for  an 
amicable  and  honorable  separation  and  an  equit- 
able division  of  Church  property.  Under  this 
plan  of  separation  the  Southern  Conferences  called 
the  Convention  of  Louisville  in  1845.  In  1846 
the  first  Southern  General  Conference  was  held 
in  Petersburg,  Va.  A  fraternal  messenger,  Rev. 
Dr.  Pierce,  was  appointed  to  visit  the  Northern 
General  Conference,  and  offer  friendly  greetings 
and  proffer  Christian  fellowship.  They  were  so 
enraged  against  us  that  they  refused  to  receive 
him  or  recognize  him  in  any  way — would  not 
even  let  him  preach  in  their  pulpits ;  they  further 
refused  to  divide  the  property  as  they  had  agreed 
to  do.  We  had  to  force  them  to  this  through  the 
Supreme  Court,     It  is  just  to  say  that  the  North- 


142  SERMONS. 

ern  Bishops  recognized  the  plan  of  separation,  and 
tried  to  carry  it  out.  Bishop  Morris,  now  the 
oldest  Bishop  of  the  Northern  Church,  declared  in 
September,  1845,  that  if  the  plan  of  separation 
had  been  carried  out  in  good  faith  and  Christian 
feeling  it  would  scarcely  have  been  felt  more  than 
the  division  of  an  Annual  Conference. 

This  is  a  succinct  history,  impartial  and  true, 
of  the  division  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Whilst  all  regretted  then,  and  do  now,  the  necessity 
for  division,  does  anybody  see  anything  connected 
with  it  that  should  cause  a  Southern  Methodist  to 
blush,  or  mantle  his  face  with  shame  ?  Nay, 
verily.  On  the  contrary,  we  cannot  contemplate 
the  noble  bearing,  the  Christian  patience,  the  spirit 
of  yielding  manifested  by  the  Southern  delegates, 
without  the  highest  satisfaction.  They  behaved 
themselves  like  true  men  of  God.  The  Southern 
fire  seemed  to  be  fed  by  the  oil  of  God's  grace. 
It  is  a  thing  to  be  remembered.  From  that  time 
the  Southern  Methodist  Church  went  forward  in  a 
career  of  increased  prosperity.  The  whole  South 
was  opened  to  her  ;  with  warm  hearts  the  rice  and 
cotton  plantations  were  put  under  her  spiritual 
care ;  master  and  slave  were  instructed  in  their 
duties;  our  missionary  contributions  were  doubled; 
God  smiled  upon  the  Church  ;  all  went  well  until 
the  war.  We  have  suffered  in  common  with  all 
our  countrymen.    The  Northern  Church  has  been 


THE  M.  E.  CHURCH  SOUTH.  143 

watching  us  with  an  evil  eye  ever  since  the  hour 
of  our  separation.  When  she  saw  us  prostrated 
she  came  down  upon  us  like  the  bird  of  prey.  A 
plan  was  inaugurated  to  take  possession  of  our 
property  as  the  army  advanced  ;  and  when  the 
war  closed  they  were  fully  up  to  time  in  the  wake 
of  the  victorious  army,  threatening  to  hang  eccle- 
siastically our  leaders,  and  send  our  laymen  to  the 
mourner's  bench  for  having  owned  slaves,  and  re- 
ceive them  only  when  they  should  come  to  them 
through  sackcloth  and  ashes.  And  they  are  now 
operating  a  regularly  organized  plan  for  the  disin- 
tegration and  overthrow  of  the  Southern  Method- 
ist Church.  We  are  poor  and  they  are  rich,  and 
through  temptations  to  our  poverty  tliey  hope 
now  to  succeed.  There  are  some  striking  points 
of  analogy  between  our  condition  and  the  captive 
Jew.  We  have  no  heart  for  singing  the  songs  re- 
quired of  us.  The  Jew  hung  his  harp  upon  the 
willow.  Nothing  so  calls  up  the  precious  memo- 
ries of  the  past  as  the  echoes  of  its  songs.  The 
very  moment  he  touches  its  chords  the  melodies 
of  the  courts  of  his  home  awoke  in  his  soul ;  the 
home  where  he  played  and  grew  to  manhood,  and 
cherished  his  hopes,  now  lost,  was  repictured  in 
his  memory.  The  graves  of  his  ancestors  where 
he  had  wept  and  prayed,  now  trod  by  stranger 
feet,  rose  in  melancholy  review.  He  had  no  heart 
for  home  songs.     His  heart  was  for  sighs.     His 


144  SERMONS. 

music  was  not  that  of  the  bird  of  Jove  when  he 
soars  far  above  the  clouds  and  pours  out  his 
shouts  of  freedom  on  the  ambient  air,  as  he 
mounts  upon  bold,  free  pinion,  but  that  of  the 
imprisoned  eagle,  who  stands  gazing  through  the 
bars  with  drooping  wing  and  plaintive  cry,  longs 
to  cut  his  native  air  and  go  back  to  his  mountain 
home.  Much  of  this  feeling  is  ours.  We  are  not 
captives  away  from  home,  but  our  enemies  are 
treading  down  and  despoiling  our  homes  before 
our  gaze.  They  do  not,  it  is  true,  require  us  to 
sing  the  Lord's  song  in  a  strange  land,  but  do  re- 
quire us  to  sing  a  strange  song  in  our  own  land. 
But,  thank  God,  the  integrity  of  the  true  Southern 
Methodist  is  above  all  price.  It  is  that  of  the 
sterling  old  Jew.  Before  we  will  be  hired,  though 
we  are  poor  and  need  money,  to  sing  a  strange 
song  in  our  desolated  and  stricken  land,  we  will 
hang  our  harps  upon  our  native  pines  and  palmet- 
tos, and  betake  ourselves  to  vows  of  fidelity  and 
prayers  to  Israel's  God  to  turn  our  captivity  into 
freedom. 

There  is  nothing  connected  with  this  whole 
question  of  division,  of  which  to  be  ashamed,  or 
that  we  should  wish  to  forget.  We  claim  to  be 
equal  sharers  in  the  cherished  memories  which 
cluster  around  American  Methodism.  The  sancti- 
fied fame  of  Wesley  is  equally  ours — of  Asbury,  of 
McKendree,  of  Lee,  of  all  who  shone  in  the  galax}r 


THE  M.  E.  CHURCH  SOUTH.  145 

of  illustrious  Methodist  names.  Our  children  are 
called  by  these  names,  and  so  the  places  where 
we  worship  our  God.  The  memories  of  the  bright 
achievements  of  heroic  toil  in  pushing  the  con- 
quests of  the  Cross  into  every  hamlet  and  village, 
into  the  palaces  of  the  rich,  and  cabins  of  the  poor, 
and  tent  of  the  pioneer,  the  waste  places,  the  by- 
ways and  highways  of  all  the  land,  are  ours.  The 
memories  connected  with  the  use  of  means  em- 
ployed, the  God-honored  love  feast,  the  old  stir- 
ring class  meeting  that  awoke  and  aroused  the 
heart  like  an  electric  shock,  the  camp  meeting, 
with  sounding  trump  and  echoing  shout,  and  peni- 
tential cries — its  tents  and  altars  and  straw — are 
ours.  We  visit  these  old  classic  and  consecrated 
spots,  the  log-bodied,  clap-boarded  Church  stands 
in  some  old  grove,  or  near  some  gurgling  spring, 
as  sentinels  guarding  its  treasury  of  hallowed 
memories  ;  near  by  are  the  remaining  forks  that 
supported  the  arbor,  and  the  broken  rail  of  the 
altar  where  our  fathers  wept  and  prayed.  As  we 
stand  and  gaze  upon  these  sacred  relics  of  the 
past,  the  song  and  shout  and  trumpet  tones  of  the 
preacher  seem  hardly  as  yet  to  have  died  out. 
These  keep  alive  our  devotion  to  our  Church.  As 
long  as  you  can  keep  alive  in  the  memory  of  a  man 
the  paternal  roof,  he  will  not  forget  the  domestic 
altar.  Keep  fresh  and  green  in  his  memory  the 
graves  of  his    ancestors,  and  their  virtues  and 


146  SERMONS. 

counsels  will  not  be  forgotten.  Before  a  youth  is 
lost  finally  and  forever,  all  trace  of  a  mother's 
love  and  prayers  must  be  obliterated  from  his 
soul.  And  if  we  forget  not  the  past  of  our  Church, 
we  shall  never  lack  devotion  to  her. 

The  past  at  least  is  secure.  Now  for  the  future. 
"  If  I  prefer  not  Jemsalem,"  etc.  We  must  make 
the  right  kind  of  history  for  those  who  are  to  come 
after  us,  if  we  would  be  remembered  as  we  remem- 
ber. We  cannot  better  do  this  than  to  preserve 
and  develop  the  genius  of  our  Church  in  the  past. 

In  propagating  Christianity  in  the  world,  two 
prominent  ideas  take  precedence  of  all  others — 
the  power  and  the  form  of  religious  creeds  do  but 
little.  Who  fails  to  be  struck  with  the  little  im- 
portance attached  to  creeds  by  Christ  and  his 
Apostles  ?  When  he  commissioned  his  disciples 
he  did  not  place  in  their  hands  articles  of  faith 
that  were  to  be  used  by  them  as  tests  of  disciple- 
ship,  did  not  say  to  them  you  must  baptize  in  this 
mode  or  that ;  that  you  must  select  out  a  few  who 
are  to  be  the  elect  •  that  the  line  of  succession  by 
human  haucls  must  be  kept  unbroken  or  the 
stream  of  salvation  would  cease  to  flow  ;  but,  "  go 
into  all  the  world,  to  every  creature ;  freely  you 
have  received,  freely  give.''  Tell  the  world  that 
whosoever  out  of  every  tribe  and  tongue  that  be- 
lieveth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  and  is  born  of 
the  Spirit,  and  keeps  His  commandments  and  per- 


THE  M.  E.  CHURCH  SOUTH.  147 

feels  holiness,  shall  be  saved.  This  is  manifestly 
the  gist  of  the  whole  thing.  This  is  an  epitome 
of  the  whole  Gospel.  John  Wesley  gave  it  dis- 
tinct form  and  embodiment  when  he  preached 
regeneration  by  faith  alone,  and  a  knowledge  of 
it  by  the  witness  of  the  Spirit  and  the  extent  of 
it,  sanctiiication,  freedom  from  sin.  This  is  the 
power  of  religion.  The  Methodist  Church  em- 
bodies a  divine  universal  sentiment,  and  not  a 
creed  or  doctrine.  This  sentiment  finds  an  echo 
in  the  heart  of  humanity.  Martin  Luther  caught 
it  from  the  apostolic  age  across  the  darkness  and 
deadness  of  ten  centuries,  and  proclaimed  salva- 
tion by  faith  alone.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church 
has  the  form  and  provides  a  substitute  for  it  in 
her  ritualism.  The  great  contest  going  on  in  the 
religious  world  in  this  country  now  lies,  and  will 
hereafter  be  chiefly,  between  the  Methodist  and 
Catholic  Churches.  All  churches  founded  upon 
dogmas  will  untimately  fail.  The  history  of 
the  various  sects  which  from  time  to  time  have 
sprung  up  in  the  Church  fullv  attests  this.  Cal- 
vinism, the  most  profoundly  intellectual  scheme 
ever  devised  by  the  brain  of  man,  has  wonder- 
fully moved  the  intellectual  world,  but  has  failed 
completely  to  evangelize  it.  One  illustration  is 
sufficient.  In  Paris,  in  the  time  of  St.  Bartholo- 
mew, Calvinism  was  equal,  or  nearly  so,  both  in 
members   and    power    to   the  Catholic   Church  ; 


148  SERMONS. 

there  see  now  only  two  small  and  feeble  Calvin- 
istic  Churches.  In  this  country  Calvinism  is 
hardly  preached.  If  any  Church  will  put  itself 
squarely  upon  it  you  may  go  to  work  on  its  epi- 
taph. We  see  (his  in  the  decline  of  the  old 
Primitive  Baptist  Church,  No  headway  is  made 
by  any  Protestant  denomination  only  as  it  puts 
itself  upon  the  grand  idea  of  a  gospel  spirituality, 
a  divine  spiritual  life  in  the  soul.  Episcopalian- 
ism,  and  all  that  family  of  protestants  holding  to 
the  dogma  of  Apostolical  succession,  remains  a 
little  handful.  Strip  it  of  its  social  power,  the 
influence  of  fashion,  and  it  would  wilt  and  die, 
expire  in  the  arms  of  Eoman  Catholic  ritualism. 
Learning,  wealth,  ministerial  accomplishments, 
genius  and  eloquence  all  sanctified  are  good,  vast 
helps  ;  creeds  do  not  hurt  if  kept  in  the  proper 
place.  But  religion  of  the  heart,  the  power  of 
godliness  in  the  soul,  is  the  grand  motive  power. 
Methodism  is  one  ideaed  on  that  subject.  She 
has  the  thirty-nine  articles  abridged  by  Mr. 
Wesley,  it  is  true,  but  the  great  masses  of  Meth- 
odists don't  even  know  it.  What  is  his  spirit  ? 
What  is  his  life  ?  How  docs  he  die  ?  These  are 
the  questions  she  asks.  This  is  Methodist  the- 
ology. Consequently  we  cannot  get  along  with- 
out leligion.  Let  a  Methodist  man  lose  his 
religious  enjoyment  and  see  how  quickly  he  is 
gone.     His  foundation  is  removed — the  base  on 


THE  M.  E.  CHURCH  SOUTH.  149 

which  he  is  built  is  taken  away.     So  with  a  soci- 
ety.    Let  it  lose  its  spirituality  and  how  soon  it 
declines,  for  the  same  reason!     Other  denomina- 
tions may  rely  on  their  creeds,  and  training,  and 
discipline,  for  a   time,   but  we   collapse   without 
religion.       Furthermore,    we    cannot    get   along 
without    revivals.       Getting    persons    into    the 
Church  one  at  a  time  does  not  meet  the  wants  of 
the  multitude.     There  are   too   many  people   in 
the  world  for  that.     The  process  is  too  slow  to 
meet  the  case  of  the  perishing  masses.     We  must 
keep  it  up  as  it  started,  with  pentecostial  acces- 
sions.     We    can    never   get   along    without    a 
mourners'    bench.      We    should    never    become 
ashamed  of  it.     Men  should  mourn  over  and  on 
account  of  their  sins,  mourn  because  they  have 
stirred  up  God's  wrath  against  them,  mourn  over 
their  follies.     All  agree  to  this.     Then  let  the 
mourners'  bench  be  forever  a  fixed  fact  in  Meth- 
odism.    I  tell  you  there  is  dust  and  ashes  about 
the  entrance  into  the  kingdom.     I  don't  object  to 
straw.     The  King  himself  thought  a  straw  bed 
good  enough  for   him    to  be   born  in.     He   has 
ennobled  humility — has  hallowed  dust  and  sack- 
cloth as  He  has  gilded  the  tomb  by  the  splendors 
of  His  resurrection  glory.     It  is  grand  to  go  in 
His  ways,  to  tread  in  His  footsteps,  to  lie  in  His 
bed,  whether  in  the  manger  or  in  the  tomb.     We 
should  never  want  to  be  above  our  Lord.     I  re- 


150  SERMONS. 

peat,  we  need  constantly,  Gospel,  heaven  and 
revivals  in  the  Church.  It  is  the  genius  of  our 
Church  as  it  is  the  genius  of  the  Gospel.  We 
learn  all  this  by  the  recollection  of  the  past,  and 
the  remembrance  of  it  should  inspire  vigor  and 
vitality  into  all  our  movements.  Then,  all  aglow 
with  spiritual  life,  we  should  go  out  on  our  high 
mission.  The  Northern  Methodists  are  forget- 
ting the  past  and  turning  aside  to  politics.  We 
will  have  to  do  her  work  in  a  great  part.  We 
must  nationalize  our  Church  and  spread  it  over 
the  whole  country  and  the  whole  world,  and  if 
we  will  only  go  forward  in  the  light  of  the  past, 
standing  by  our  old  landmarks  and  trusting  in 
God  as  a  Church,  we  can  push  the  conquests  of 
the  Cross  to  the  ends  of  the  world. 


&mx  $>o&  §Mm  titan  §t»w. 


"  And  fear  not  them  which  kill  the  body,  but  are  not  able  to  kill  the  soul: 
but  rather  fear  Him  which  is  able  to  destroy  both  soul  and  body  in  hell." 
—Matt,  x,  28.  

St.  Luke,  in  the  twelfth  chapter  and  fourth 
and  fifth  verses,  repeats  the  same  injunction, 
though  in  language  a  little  different  yet  in  sub- 
stance the  same:  "Be  not  afraid  of  them  that 
kill  the  body,  and  after  that  have  no  more  that 
they  can  do.     But  I  will  forewarn  you  whom  ye 


FEAR  GOD  RATHER  THAN  MAN.  151 

shall  fear  :  Fear  Him  which,  after  He  hath  killed, 
hath  power  to  east  into  hell;  yea,  I  say  unto  you, 
fear  Him."  God,  for  wise  and  noble  purposes,  has 
engrafted  upon  the  human  heart  the  principle  of 
fear.  If  it  is  properly  developed  and  cultivated, 
it  is  as  noble  as  any  passion  that  attaches  to  our 
natures.  I  know  there  prevails  a  sort  of  preju- 
dice against  this  passion,  and  men  are  inclined  to 
acknowledge  themselves  under  the  influence  of 
almost  any  other  sooner  than  fear.  We  hear 
individuals  sometimes,  in  a  braggadocio  way, 
boast  of  never  having  felt  fear — boast  of  not 
knowing  what  it  is  to  fear,  and  imagine  that  it  is 
of  some  consequence  to  them  if  they  can  make 
the  impression  that  they  neither  fear  God  nor 
regard  man.  All  this,  however,  may  be  set 
down  as  idle  cant,  as  intended  simply  for  effect. 
I  undertake  to  assert  that,  as  a  general  rule,  men 
are  more  universally  and  continuously  operated 
upon  by  fear  than  by  any  other  passion.  Very 
few  in  direct  personal  contact  with  their  fellows 
fear  physical  hurt,  yet  thousands  and  thousands 
go  cringing  and  wincing  through  life,  lose  many 
a  quiet,  happy  hour  by  night  and  by  day  through 
fear  of  influences.  And  we  undertake  farther  to 
assert,  that  the  greatest  object  of  fear  to  man  is 
his  fellow  man.  God  may  be  held  up  as  an  ob- 
ject of  terror  to  the  evil  doer  ;  hell,  with  its 
blinding  glare  and   black  smoke,  and   the  grave 


152  SERMONS. 

with  its  shadows  and  gloom,  these  may  at  times 
awaken  in  his  mind  emotions  of  fear,  but  they 
are  soon  dismissed.  Not  so  as  to  his  fellow. 
Whether  he  is  in  his  shop,  or  counting  room,  or 
office,  or  on  the  street,  the  fear  of  man  is  contin- 
ually before  his  eyes.  This  fear  is  felt  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent  by  all.  It  is  found  to 
exist  in  all  ranks  and  grades  of  society.  There 
are  influences  which  the  politician  fears,  influ- 
ences which  the  lawyer  fears,  influences  which 
the  auctioneer,  the  tradesman,  the  minister,  and 
even  the  members  of  Christ's  Church,  fear. 

As  in  the  examination  of  our  text  we  wish 
only  to  examine  the  fear  which  affects  man's  re- 
ligious character  and  condition,  we  will  dismiss 
from  consideration  that  fear  which  operates  upon 
him  in  his  worldly  relations  and  success,  except 
in  so  far  as  it  may  bear  upon  his  religious  char- 
acter ;  and  in  doing  so  we  dismiss  all  the  charac- 
ters we  have  introduced,  except  the  ministers 
and  members  of  Christ's  Church.  We  shall  in- 
troduce them,  however,  again  in  their  characters 
as  sinners  against  Grod. 

This  man-fearing  spirit  enters  the  pulpit  and 
becomes  one  of  the  greatest  paralyzers — the 
mightiest  incubus  that  hangs  upon  the  sacred 
desk.  I  believe  that  at  the  present  time  it  is 
crippling  the  efficiency  of  the  pulpit  more  than 
any  other  cause.     Instead  of  preaching  the  plain 


FEAR  GOD  RATHER  THAN  MAN.  153 

word  of  truth,  declaring  the  whole  counsels  of 
God,  giving  to  each  his  portion  in  due  season, 
there  seems  a  disposition  to  falter  through  fear  of 
offending  ;  hence,  "  a  daubing  with  nntempered 
mortar."  How  frequently  in  this  way  does  the 
minister  permit  many,  who  wait  on  his  ministry 
and  look  to  him  for  guidance,  to  pass  through  his 
hands  to  perdition.  Let  me  illustrate  the 
thought.  Mow  often  do  we  find  that,  if  the  min- 
ister has  members  in  his  church  who  are  intem- 
perate, who,  by  their  excess  in  drinking,  are 
bringing  upon  themselves  and  their  families  ruin 
and  woe,  and  disgrace  upon  the  cause  of  Christ, 
instead  of  lifting  over  them  a  voice  of  warning  ; 
instead  of  thundering  in  their  ears  the  curse  pro- 
nounced by  G-od  upon  the  drunkard  ;  instead  of 
declaring  to  them  that  the  spirits  of  alcohol  will 
quench  the  spirit  of  G-od,  he  lets  them  go  on 
quietly  to  hell,  lest  he  offend  them  ! 

Again,  if  he  sees  his  members  bowing  down  at 
the  shrine  of  wealth,  with  their  whole  soul  ab- 
sorbed with  making,  and  getting,  and  hoarding  up 
money,  he  will  not  preach  against  covetousness, 
and  avarice,  and  the  love  of  gold,  the  root  of  all 
evil,  choosing  to  let  them  go  on  to  hell  rather 
than  run  the  risk  of  offending  them !  If  pride 
creeps  into  the  Church,  and  he  sees  his  members 
becoming  vain  and  gay,  wearing  proud  looks  and 
haughty  airs,   losing  the  spirit  of  humility,  and, 


154  SERMONS. 

consequently,  the  spirit  of  Christ,  sparkling  with 
rings,  and  bracelets,  and  diamonds,  and  lace,  he 
is  afraid  to  preach  against  pride,  that  he  sees  is 
sapping  their  spiritual  life,  lest  he  give  offence  ! 
God  deliver  us  from  this  fear !  As  long  as  we 
stand  on  the  walls  to  sound  the  alarm,  we  pray 
God  to  keep  us  from  giving  an  uncertain  sound 
when  we  see  the  sword  coming  !  It  is  all  a  mis- 
take, too,  about  giving  offence.  If  the  minister 
will  show  that  it  is  because  he  fears  God,  and 
earnestly  desires  their  salvation — that  he  is 
prompted  only  by  a  desire  to  do  them  good — his 
people  will  like  him  all  the  better. 

Ministers  are  not  only  affected  by  this  man- 
fearing  spirit,  but  it  affects  the  laity.  One 
brother  sees  another  going  astray,  indulging  in 
sin,  and,  through  fear  of  offending  him,  he  will  not 
counsel  with  and  admonish  him  of  his  error.  It 
is  frequently  the  case  that  members  of  the  Church, 
in  their  intercourse  with  the  world,  instead  of 
bringing  to  bear  upon  sinners  the  influence  of 
pious  examples  and  holy,  godly  conversations, 
rebuking  sin,  and  speaking  a  word  for  Jesus,  are 
almost  ashamed  to  own  that  they  know  Him, 
much  less  that  they  are  His  disciples ;.  not  that 
they  are  afraid  of  personal  hurt,  as  was  the  case 
at  the  time  the  injunction  of  the  text  was  given, 
but  lest  they  may  lose  some  of  the  esteem  of  sin- 
ners.    Through  this  spirit  of  fear  the  Christian 


FEAR  GOD  RATHER  THAN  MAN.  155 

parent  is  led  to  neglect  his  family  worship,  if  a 
stranger  should  be  present ;  and  if  his  soul  be- 
comes happy  at  church  under  the  influence  of 
God's  word  and  spirit,  and  he  feels  like  shouting 
and  praising  God,  he  is  afraid  to  do  so,  lest  some 
blockhead  should  laugh  at  him.  How  often  is  it 
the  case  that  the  member,  whilst  the  minister  is 
preaching,  instead  of  lifting  his  soul  to  God  in 
earnest  prayer  that  the  word,  the  truth,  like  a 
two-edged  sword,  may  cut  its  way  to  the  sinner's 
heart,  and  bring  him  cowering  at  the  foot  of 
the  Cross,  is  cringing  lest  the  minister  may  say 
something  that  will  not  set  so  well  upon  the  ears 
of  some,  or  make  some  blunder  in  language  or 
rhetoric  ?  Away  with  this  man-fearing  spirit ! 
Yes,  I  say,  away  with  it !  I'll  fight  it,  and  I 
would  have  the  Church  fight  it,  until  it  is  fought 
back,  and  hides  its  face  in  perdition,  whence  it 
comes. 

Again,  this  man-fearing  spirit  affects  not  only 
the  proper  discharge  of  duty,  and  thereby  pro- 
duces a  diseased  and  disordered  internal  state, 
but  it  cripples  the  energies  of  the  Church  in  its 
aggressive  movements,  producing  a  wincing  and 
shrinking  from  worldly  influence.  When  a  stand 
is  to  be  taken  for  God,  when  a  position  is  to  be 
assumed,  when  the  light  of  the  Church  is  to  be 
set  upon  a  question — the  question  frequently  gov- 
erning action  instead  of  looking  into  the  law  of 


156  SERMONS. 

G-od,  ascertaining  His  will,  and  unflinchingly  ad- 
hering to  it — the  question  too  often  is,  what  will 
public  opinion  think  of  this?  What  will  the 
world  say  of  us?  Shall  we  not  lose  onr  influ- 
ence ?  Shall  we  not  lose  caste  ?  And  in  this 
way  there  is  a  conforming  to  the  world  and  a 
losing  sight  of  the  injunction  of  the  Apostle : 
"  And  be  not  conformed  to  this  world ;  but  be  ye 
transformed  by  the  renewing  of  your  mind,  that 
ye  mn,y  prove  what  is  that  good,  and  acceptable, 
and  perfect  will  of  G-od." 

This  spirit  not  only  affects  ministers  and  mem- 
bers of  Christ's  Church — becoming  a  great  barrier 
and  hindrance  to  them  in  the  discharge  of  their 
duties — but  it  is  felt  more  strongly  and  powerfully 
by  the  sinner,  and  it  keeps  thousands  from  the 
Cross. 

We  now  have  the  subject  before  us,  the  evil 
against  which  we  are  guarded  in  the  text,  in  some 
of  its  effects  presented  us;  we  now  draw  one  pro- 
position from  the  text — that  God  rather  than  man 
is  to  be  feared.  We  propose  to  sustain  this  pro- 
position by  offering  reasons  why  we  should  not 
fear  man,  in  contrast  with  reasons  why  we  should 
fear  G-od:  "Fear  not  them  which  kill  the  body, 
but  are  not  able  to  kill  the  soul;  but  rather  fear 
Him  which  is  able  to  destroy  both  soul  and  body 
in  hell." 

First,  then,  we  should  nut  fear  man  rather  than 


FEAR  GOP  RATHER  THAN  MAN.  157 

God,  for  the  utmost  that  man  can  do  is  to  kill  the 
body.  This  implies  not  only  that  he  may  kill  the 
body,  but  that  he  may  strip  us  of  all  worldly 
good,  temporal  enjoyments,  which  implies  the  de- 
privation of  reputation,  of  property  and  of  life. 
Now,  let  us  take  up  each  separately.  Grant  that 
he  can  take  away  your  reputation,  your  character, 
your  good  name.  If  it  is  done  because  you  fear 
God  rather  than  man,  is  there  to  be  found  in  this 
loss  of  reputation  a  reason  sufficient  to  influence 
our  fears  ?  What  is  the  loss  of  reputation  ? 
Though  man  with  the  world  may  render  our 
names  odious,  yet  he  cannot  take  away  our  in- 
tegrity. Though  by  falsehood  and  slander  he 
may  spot  our  character  in  the  eyes  of  men,  he 
cannot  blacken  our  consciences.  And  it  seems 
to  me  that  it  is  preferable  to  have  a  good  name 
with  God  than  with  men,  when  one  can  only  be 
enjoyed  at  the  sacrifice  of  the  other.  The  praise 
of  man  and  the  applause  of  the  populace  will 
answer  for  the  moment  of  excitement,  but  it  re- 
quires the  approbation  of  God  for  the  hour  of 
retirement  and  solitude.  Hosaimas  from  human 
tongues  may  do  for  life,  but  it  requires  the  smile 
of  heaven  for  death.  The  great  Apostle  to  the 
Gentiles  was  put  to  an  ignominious  death  in  Eome 
by  the  public  authorities,  was  disgraced  in  public 
esteem.  But  what  cared  he  for  that?  Is  he  any 
the  worse  now  by  it,  think  ye?    Nay,  verily.    He 


158  SERMONS. 

might  well  endure  the  execrations  and  anathemas 
of  an  excited  and  infuriated  populace  for  a  few 
hours,  if  it  is  the  prelude  of  welcoming  shouts  and 
salutations  of  saints  and  angels.  He  might  well 
endure  the  club  upon  his  head  and  the  whip  upon 
his  back,  if  it  is  the  initiatory  ceremony  of  his  re- 
ceiving a  crown  and  white  robe.  It  seems  to  me 
that  it  is  preferable  to  be  in  good  standing  with 
God,  and  even  have  the  curses  of  man,  than  to  have 
our  praise  on  every  human  lip  and  the  frown  of 
God  continually  upon  us.  Again,  suppose  man 
may  take  away  not  only  our  reputation  but  our 
property  also,  would  this  constitute  a  reason  why 
we  should  fear  him  rather  than  God  ?  The  world 
has  fallen  into  a  very  great  mistake  in  supposing 
that  property  is  essential  to  happiness.  If  we 
have  it,  and  properly  use  it,  it  adds  much  to  our 
comfort  here.  I  condemn  no  man  for  seeking  in 
an  honorable  way  to  obtain  all  he  can,  provided 
he  will  make  a  proper  use  of  it  after  he  obtains 
it.  Christ  says:  "Lay  not  up  for  yourselves 
treasures  on  earth."  His  meaning  is  that  we 
shall  not  simply,  only,  lay  up  treasures  on  earth. 
But  the  proposition  I  lay  down  is  that  property 
is  not  so  connected  with  and  essential  to  our  hap- 
piness as  that  we  cannot  be  happy  without  it,  as 
that  we  cannot  part  with  it  and  be  happy ;  and 
our  observation  supports  this  proposition.  The 
happiest  people  I  ever  saw  were  about  the  poorest 


FEAR  GOD  RATHER  THAN  MAN.  159 

people  I  ever  saw.  The  Scriptures  also  support 
this  proposition:  "And  every  one  that  hath  for- 
saken houses,  or  brethren,  or  sisters,  or  father,  or 
mother,  or  wife,  or  children,  or  lands,  for  My 
name's  sake,  shall  receive  a  hundred  fold,  and 
shall  inherit  everlasting  life." 

But,  again,  suppose  that  man  may  take  away 
not  only  our  reputation  and  property,  but  even 
our  life  ;  and  is  this  even  a  reason  why  we  should 
fear  him  rather  than  God?  We  hold  life  dear,  I 
know.  We  cling  to  it  with  a  tenacity  not  easily 
broken.  We  give  our  property,  our  all,  for  life. 
Thousands  will  part  with  integrity  for  it.  But  if 
we  fear  God  rather  than  man,  what  is  it  to  die? 
Have  you  ever  thought  how  quickly  it  is  over? 
How  long  does  it  take  a  man  to  die?  Suppose  it 
was  the  embodiment  of  all  suffering,  clothe  it  with 
everything  that  is  horrible,  and  dreadful,  and  ap- 
palling, and  it  lasts  but  a  little  while — it  is  soon 
over.  What  is  temporaldeath  compared  to  eter- 
nal death?  The  reason  drawn,  therefore,  from 
man's  power  to  inflict  death  upon  us,  is  as  much 
less  than  the  reason  why  we  should  rather  fear 
God,  as  temporal  death  is  less  than  eternal  death. 

We  have  now  taken  the  strongest  view  of  what 
man  can  do  to  us;  and  in  view  of  the  worst  afflic- 
tions which  he  can  bring  upon  us,  we  can  see  no 
good  reason  why  he  should  be  feared  rather  than 
God.     But  the  little  reason  that  does  appear  is 


160  SERMONS. 

entirely  destroyed  when  it  is  recollected  that  man 
cannot  do  any  of  these  things  to  us — cannot  take 
away  our  reputation,  our  property,  or  our  life, 
unless  God  will  permit  him  to  do  it;  and  God  will 
not  permit  him  to  do  it  unless  it  is  for  our  good 
that  it  should  be  done.  Let  us  look  at  this  a  little. 
This  is  a  point  of  vast  interest  to  him  who  fears 
God  rather  than  man.  It  is  of  great  interest  if 
we  can  sustain  this  position.  The  word  of  God 
does  sustain  it.  Kot  even  a  sparrow,  we  are 
taught,  falleth  to  the  ground  without  His  notice. 
With  Him  are  the  issues  of  life  and  death.  He 
upholds  all  things  by  the  word  of  His  power,  and 
all  things  shall  work  together  for  good  to  them 
that  love  God.  Reason  also  sustains  the  posi- 
tion. God  is  omnipresent' — everywhere.  He  is 
everywhere  in  His  omnipotent  character.  He  is 
everywhere  then  at  the  same  time,  exerting  su- 
perior power  to  every  other  power.  Are  these 
propositions  true?  The  conclusion,  then,  is  plain 
and  irresistible,  that  no  power  of  man  or  devils 
can  be  exerted  at  any  time  in  any  place  without 
the  permission  of  God's  superior  and  overruling 
omnipotence.  Here  is  our  security.  "What  is  it 
but  this  that  protects  the  character  of  the  minister 
of  Jesus  Christ  ?  Do  you  suppose  the  devil  is  so 
fair  that  he  would  not  make  a  lie  to  destroy  the 
character  of  the  man  of  God?  Do  you  suppose 
there  are  no  wicked  men  on  earth,  his  agents, 


FEAR  GOD  RATHER  THAN  MAN.  161 

who  would  originate  a  slander  to  blast  the  char- 
acter of  God's  ministers?  Our  security  is  not 
with  them.  It  is  with  God.  God  will  not  let  his 
atmosphere  bear  the  slander.  He  withers  and 
dries  it  up  on  the  lips  of  those  who  would  take  it 
up.  He  will  not  let  it  lodge  in  the  hearts  of  those 
who  otherwise  would  chew  it  as  a  sweet  morsel 
under  their  tongues.  Not  only  so  with  the  sincere 
minister,  but  every  one  who  fears  God.  He  will 
not  permit  your  reputation  to  be  destroyed,  your 
property  to  be  taken,  your  life  to  be  sacrificed, 
unless  it  is  for  your  good.  Aye,  the  slanderer 
may  whet  his  tongue  and  cherish  his  passion  in 
his  soul,  but  the  venom  he  spits  will  not  even 
cling  to  your  garments.  The  tradesman,  your 
enemy,  may  invite  your  custom  away,  but  God 
will  turn  other  custom  into  your  shop.  God  will 
niLike  your  business  prosper.  The  robber  and  in- 
cendiary may  walk  round  your  dwelling,  their 
assassin  eyes  may  glare  in  the  light  of  your  win- 
dows, but  the  doors  and  windows  cannot  be  forced, 
nor  will  his  matches  blaze  unseen  by  some  passer 
by,  until  God's  power  withdraws,  and  permits  it 
for  your  good. 

If  the  reasons  are  as  represented,  and  the  views 
presented  correct — and  we  submit  them  to  your 
judgment  for  decision — is  it  not  a  matter  of  some 
surprise  that  men  should  fear  man  at  all,  and  espe- 
cially that  a  man  who  fears  God  should  fear  man  ? 

8* 


162  SERMONS. 

Now  these  reasons  address  themselves  to  the  un- 
derstanding of  the  sinner  as  well  as  the  Christian, 
for  the  sinner  is  such  because  he  does  not  fear 
God  ;  and  if  the  views  and  reasons  presented  con- 
firm the  Christian  in  his  position,  that  he  will  fear 
God  rather  than  man,  they  should  incite  the  sin- 
ner to  aspire  to  the  same  position. 

So  much  for  the  reasons  why  we  should  not  fear 
man.  Now  let  us  examine  some  of  the  reasons  why 
we  should  fear  God,  by  looking  to  what  he  can  do 
to  us.  He  can  do  all  that  man  can  do  against  us. 
He  can  destroy  our  bodies — he  can  strip  us  of  our 
reputation,  he  can  take  away  our  property,  he  can 
take  away  our  life.  If  here  his  power  to  affect  us 
ended,  if  God  could  do  no  more  than  this,  we 
might  have  some  difficulty  in  deciding  which  to 
fear  more,  but  right  here  commences  the  differ- 
ence. In  the  very  next  step  of  our  investigation 
God's  superiority  begins  to  rise.  Whilst  man 
cannot  injure  us  unless  God  permits  it,  God  can 
work  against  us  and  man  cannot  hinder.  If  God 
chooses  to  touch  our  reputation,  strike  down  our 
character,  man's  praise  and  applause  would  be 
like  sickly  flowers  cast  upon  a  decaying  corpse  ; 
if  God  should  choose  to  strip  us  of  our  prosperity, 
man  cannot  stay  the  pestilence  that  would  sweep 
it.  If  God  lays  us  upon  a  bed  of  sickness  and 
death,  man  cannot,  with  all  his  arts  and  ingenuity 
and  effort,  raise  us  up.    If  God  bleaches  the  cheek 


FEAR  GOD  RATHER  THAN  MAN.  163 

with  the  death  pallor,  man  cannot  conceal  it  with 
the  flush  of  health.  If  G-od  draws  the  fire  from 
the  eye,  man  has  no  power  to  light  it  again.  But 
all  this  seems  to  constitute  so  small  a  reason  why 
God  is  to  be  feared  rather  than  man,  that  it  ap- 
pears not  to  be  taken  into  the  account  in  the  text  ; 
it  is  not  offered  nor  urged.  The  reason  alleged 
here  is  "  able  to  destroy  both  soul  and  body  in 
hell,"  and  man  cannot  prevent  it.  We  have  seen 
that  if  we  fear  God  he  can  interpose  and  prevent 
man's  worst  punishments  ;  not  so  with  man.  If  we 
fear  man  and  not  G-od,  when  God  comes  to  do  his 
utmost  upon  us,  man  is  powerless  to  prevent  it. 
When  the  sentence,  "depart,"  is  pronounced, 
man  has  no  power  to  countermand  it  ;  when  the 
line  of  march  is  taken,  man  cannot  stay  the  tread  ; 
nay,  when  in  hell  you  lift  up  your  eyes  in  tor- 
ment, man  cannot  even  cool  your  parched  tongue 
with  a  drop  of  water.  What  is  the  worst  that 
God  can  do  ?  Destroy  both  soul  and  body  in  hell. 
What  is  that?  Let  God  define  it — the  place 
"  where  the  worm  dieth  not  and  the  fire  is  not 
quenched."  "  Where  the  smoke  of  the  torment 
ascendeth  up  for  ever  and  ever  " — the  place  of 
everlasting  punishment.  Think  of  it  in  compari- 
son with  man's  punishments.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  decide  the  kind,  the  nature  of  the  punishment — 
only  do  not  forget  one  feature,  that  it  is  everlast- 
ing, unending.     Think  of  it.     Pleasures  derived 


164  SERMONS. 

otherwise  than  from  God,  eternally  indulged  and 
enjoyed,  would  at  last  become  loathesome.  If  we 
were  compelled  forever  to  gaze  upon  beautiful 
pictures  and  delightful  scenery,  the  time  would 
come  when  we  should  tire,  and,  compelled  to  gaze 
on,  then  the  time  would  come  when  we  should  be 
disgusted  and  loathe  it.  If  we  were  doomed 
eternally  to  have  the  shouts  of  applause  poured 
upon  our  ears,  or  to  roll  in  wealth  and  luxury 
and  fashion,  the  time  would  come  when  the  ear 
would  become  wearied,  and  the  heart  grow  sick 
and  tired.  Think  of  eternal  punishment,  then, 
however  light;  think  of  its  never  ending.  How 
could  we  endure  everlasting  punishment  ? 

Carry  along  in  your  reflection  another  thought, 
as  a  reason  why  God  is  to  be  feared  rather  than 
man — that  what  he  shall  inflict,  whether  it  is  fire, 
flame,  or  smoke,  will  be  the  utmost  he  can  do. 
This  conclusion  is  drawn  from  the  apposition  in 
which  the  latter  clause  of  the  text  stands  to  the 
former.  The  killing  of  the  body  is  said  to  be  all 
that  man  can  do  ;  the  inference  then,  from  the  re- 
lation which  these  two  clauses  bear  to  each  other, 
is,  that  the  destroying  of  both  soul  and  body  in 
hell  is  the  utmost  that  God  can  do.  It  may  be 
said,  that  annihilation  of  the  soul — destroying  its 
existence — would  be  greater.  It  might  be  the 
exercise  of  greater  power,  but  not  of  greater 
punishment,  for,  so  soon  as   the  soul  ceased   to 


a  nation's  true  source  of  happiness.    165 

exist,  the  punishment  would  cease.  The  de- 
struction of  the  soul  and  body  therefore,  in  hell, 
is  God's  utmost  punishment.  Great  God,  how 
terrible  is  thy  power  !  Think  of  it !  God  shall 
marshal  the  strength  of  his  omnipotence,  and 
spend  it  in  your  punishment.  The  Almighty 
arm  that  holds  up  the  universe  will  be  brought 
down  in  its  crushing  weight  upon  your  soul. 
God  will  hold  your  soul  in  one  hand  and  forever 
smite  it  with  the  other.  When  your  soul  almost 
reaches  the  point  of  annihilation,  He  will  impart 
life  to  it  that  it  may  not  die,  but  suffer  on  forever 
and  ever.  We  begin  to  understand  what  the 
Apostle  meant  when  he  said  :  "God  out  of  Christ 
is  a  consuming  fire." 


^  §tation'£  Snti  £mtt  of  gapping, 

(DEDICATORY    SERMON    PREACHED    DURING   THE   LATE 

WAR.)— Eds. 
"  Happy  is  that  people  whose  God  is  (he  Lord." — Psalms,  cxliv,  15. 


Every  man  is  born  with  a  religion.  He  wakes 
to  consciousness  with  the  conviction  that  he  did 
not  originate  or  create  himself,  that  he  cannot 
sustain  his  own  existence,  and  that  he  is  passing 
irresistibly  to  an  unknown  future  state.  This 
conviction  produces  in  him  a  sense  of  depend- 
ence.    To  the  Being  or  Power  that  gave  him  life, 


166  SERMONS. 

and  sustains  it,  lie,  by  instinct,  looks  up,  and  wor- 
ships Him.  For  all  that  is  good  which  He  be- 
stows he  feels  obliged,  for  all  that  is  evil  to  which 
he  is  subjected  he  is  inclined  to  propitiate  Him. 
This  principle  in  a  man,  when  developed,  is  his 
religon,  and  the  character  of  it  will  depend  upon 
his  education.  If  he  be  taught  that  the  sun  is 
this  great  originating,  sustaining  or  governing 
cause  or  power,  he  will  look  up  to  and  worship 
the  sun.  If  he  be  taught  that  stocks  and  stones, 
carved  by  human  hands  and  consecrated  by 
priestly  rituals,  represent  this  great  cause,  he 
will  worship  them.  If  he  be  taught  that  all 
things,  including  himself,  happened  by  chance, 
he  will  look  up  to  and  worship  chance ;  or  if  he 
be  taught  that  the  Grod  of  the  Bible,  the  Father 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  is  that  great  cause  and 
power,  he  will  acknowledge  and  worship  Him  ; 
and  of  all  these  worshippers  my  text  states  that 
he,  or  that  people,  is  happy  or  blessed  whose 
God  is  the  Lord — the  Lord  made  known  in  the 
Bible. 

As  an  appropriate  theme  on  an  occasion  like 
the  present,  the  opening  and  consecrating  of  a 
house  of  worship  to  G-od  the  Lord,  I  propose  to 
shape  the  meaning  and  truth  of  the  text,  and  see, 
if  possible,  how  far  the  declaration  is  exemplified 
in  the  history  and  the  condition  of  the  people  of 
this  country.     In  doing  so,  the  first  step  I  take  is 


a  nation's  true  source  of  happiness.    167 

to  inquire  into  what  is  meant  by  the  "phrase 
"  whose  God  is  the  Lord."  It  may  and  does 
occur  that  individuals,  as  well  as  peoples,  some- 
times profess  that  their  God  is  the  Lord,  and 
proclaim  in  his  favor,  whose  God  is  not  the  Lord, 
in  the  sense  of  the  text.  It  is  possible  that  a 
people  may  acknowledge  God's  authority  and 
rule  outwardly,  and  at  the  same  time  obey  their 
own  behests  ;  a  people  may  professedly  rever- 
ence His  Sabbath,  and  commit  abominable  wick- 
edness on  other  days  ;  a  people  may  build  ele- 
gant houses  of  worship,  with  arched  ceilings, 
with  painted  slips  and  cushioned  pews,  and  car- 
peted aisles,  with  splendid  orchestra  and  beauti- 
ful chancel,  and  yet  there  may  never  appear 
amidst  the  worship  the  shekinah  on  the  cloud 
above  the  mercy  seat.  They  may  crowd  the 
pavemants  and  vestibules  with  their  presence,  on 
popular  occasions  of  worship,  and  yet  never  visit 
the  widow  and  the  fatherless.  Motives  other 
than  those  that  spring  from  love  and  consecra- 
tion to  God,  may  produce  all  those  virtuous 
actions  seen  in  that  people  whose  God  is  really 
the  Lord.  Those  people,  many  of  them,  whose 
God  was  not  the  Lord,  give  us  instances  of  this. 
The  outward  virtues  of  many  of  them,  few  Chris- 
tians excel  and  few  equal.  Look  at  the  virtues 
and  patience  of  most  of  the  old  philosophers,  and 
the  integrity,  and   virtue,  and  almost  Christian 


168  SERMONS. 

grace,  of  many  of  the  old  classic  statesmen.  Think 
of  the  chastity  of  Scipio,  the  liberality  of  Augus- 
tus, the  severity  of  Cato,  the  integrity  of  Fabricus 
Tully,  who  behaved  himself  with  so  much  virtue 
and  resolution  in  favor  of  his  country  against  Clo- 
clius  and  Catiline,  tells  frankly  his  motive,  and 
gives  us  a  key  to  the  motive  of  them  all.  He 
says,  that  if  he  had  not  grown  up  from  his  youth 
with  the  persuasion  that  nothing  was  earnestly 
to  be  desired  but  praise  and  honor,  he  never 
would  have  exposed  himself  to  the  enmities  and 
dangers  he  underwent  in  his  country's  defence. 

The  truth  of  my  assumption  is  manifested  in 
the  lives  of  the  people  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 
No  people  are  more  clear  and  emphatic  that  God 
is  the  Lord,  no  people  more  strict  and  exact  in 
their  obedience  to  the  teachings  of  the  Church, 
more  punctual  in  their  worship,  and  of  very  many 
of  them  it  may  be  said  in  truth,  that  few,  if  any, 
excel  them  in  virtuous  lives.  Yet  the  Pope 
and  his  whole  system  is  declared  to  be  Anti- 
Christ,  the  Child  of  Perdition,  the  Man  of  Sin. 

The  most  striking  proof,  however,  of  the  truth 
of  my  assumption,  is  exhibited  in  the  lives  of  the 
Pharisees.  What  could  be  done  outwardly  that 
these  men  did  not  do  ?  They  were  frequent  in 
prayer,  gave  alms,  were  exact  in  their  tithing. 
They  sat  in  the  seat  of  Moses,  and  taught  so  well 
that  Christ,  on  one  occasion,  charged  His  disci- 


a  nation's  true  source  of  happiness.    169 

pies  that  whatever  they  taught  they  should  ob- 
serve and  do.  In  a  word,  they  had  gained  such  a 
reputation  for  piety,  that  it  was  a  common  say- 
ing among  the  Jews,  that  if  only  two  persons  in 
the  world  were  saved  one  of  them  would  he  a 
Pharisee;  and  yet  they  did  all  this  that  they 
might  be  talked  of  and  admired.  They  prayed, 
but  it  was  standing  in  the  streets,  with  a  desire  far 
greater  to  be  seen  here  below  than  to  be  heard 
above  ;  they  gave  alms,  but  it  was  with  trumpets 
and  proclamations.  They  were  strict  and  exact 
in  the  performance  of  all  their  outward  duties, 
and  yet  our  Saviour  said  that,  unless  the  right- 
eousness of  His  disciples  exceeded  the  righteous- 
ness of  the  Pharisees,  they  could  in  no  case  en- 
ter into  His  heavenly  kingdom. 

The  question  arises  as  to  what  people  may  be 
classed  with  those  whose  God  is  the  Lord;  and  I 
remark,  that  those  whose  rulers  are  God-fearing 
and  God-serving  men  may  be  classed  as  such. 
We  are  taught  that  when  the  righteous  reign  the 
people  rejoice,  but  when  the  wicked  rule  the  peo- 
ple mourn.  That  people,  therefore,  who  set  over 
them  and  continue  in  office,  rulers,  and  governors, 
and  legislators  who  break  God's  laws  and  trample 
His  authority  under  foot  and  blaspheme  His 
name,  cannot  and  ought  not  to  be  classed  as  a 
people  whose  God  is  the  Lord.  And  they  must 
not  only  have  righteous  rulers  but  they  must  be 


170  SERMONS. 

righteous  themselves.  There  must  be  a  general 
compliance  with  G-ocVs  law  as  revealed  in  His 
word — a  practice  of  the  doctrines  contained  there- 
in ;  not  simply  an  outward  performance  of  the  re- 
quirements of  His  revealed  will,  but  the  genius, 
the  spirit,  the  tempers,  the  tone  of  the  hearts  of 
the  people  must  be  in  harmony  with  that  will. 
The  intellect,  and  spirit,  and  body  of  the  people 
must  be  sanctified  and  consecrated  to  God  the 
Lord.  Not  every  single  one  but  the  masses. 
When  this  spirit  pervades  a  people,  then  they  re- 
cognize the  fact  that  they  all  have  the  same  origin 
and  the  same  destiny.  Then  they  practice  sin- 
cerity with  each  other,  every  man  speaks  the 
truth  with  his  neighbor — then  they  are  just  to 
each  other  and  to  all  other  peoples,  rendering  to 
all  their  dues — "tribute  to  whom  tribute  is  due, 
custom  to  whom  custom  is  due,  fear  to  whom  fear 
is  due,  honor  to  whom  honor  is  due,  and  whatso- 
ever they  would  that  men  should  do  unto  them 
they  do  even  the  same  unto  them."  They  are 
animated  with  charity  which  prompts  them  to  aid 
each  other  and  give  up  private  interests  for  the 
public  good.  Such  a  people's  God  is  the  Lord, 
and  they  are  said,  in  my  text,  to  be  happy. 

The  next  step  I  take  is  to  show  how  such  a 
people  is  happy.  First,  they  are  happy  because 
their  faith  and  practice  constantly  tend  to  pro- 
mote good  order  and  peace  amongst  them.     In 


a  nation's  true  source  of  happiness.    171 

the  second  great  commandment — "thou  shalt  love 
thy  neighbor  as  thyself" — which  such  a  people 
constantly  obey,  the  doctrines  of  justice,  fraternity 
and  equality  are  inculcated;  and  these,  when  prac- 
ticed, promote  good  order  and  peace,  and  render 
any  people  happy.  I  think  we  have  had  enough, 
as  a  people,  to  appreciate  that  peace  is  happiness 
to  any  people.  We  arc  in  the  condition  to  feel 
that  that  people  is  happy  that  enjoys  peace, 
though  they  may  lack  almost  everything  else. 

Secondly,  such  a  people  is  happy,  because  they 
not  only  enjoy  peace,  but  practicing  the  doctrines 
which  prohibit  slothfulness  in  business  and  enjoin 
the  duty  of  making  provision  for  each  household, 
prosperity  and  plenty  abound.  Thriving  towns 
and  villages  grow  up  all  through  the  land  ;  statety 
mansions  and  neat  cottages  dot  every  farm  ;  wav- 
ing harvests  court  the  summer  breeze  and  crown 
the  autumnal  year  ;  sleek  cattle  and  lowing  herds 
lounge  about  stuffed  stalls,  and  full  garners  put 
want  at  defiance.  Their  sails,  too,  whiten  every 
sea,  and  their  healthful  commerce  throws  into 
their  lap  the  wealth  of  other  lands. 

Thirdly,  such  a  people  is  happy  because  they 
become  elevated  amongst  peoples — exalted  in  the 
earth.  "  Righteousness  exalteth  a  nation."  The 
more  a  people  follow  the  spirit  of  religion,  the 
more  will  they  cherish,  and  foster,  and  develop,  all 
the  elements  that  make  up  a  great  nation.     The 


172  SERMONS. 

liberal  arts  and  sciences,  learning  in  all  its  va- 
ried forms,  jurisprudence,  commerce,  the  mechan- 
ical arts,  will  flourish.     The  history  of  the  past, 
in  all  ages,  furnishes  us  with  ample  proof  of  this. 
Not  only  the  people  who  acknowledge  the  Lord 
as  their  God,  but  the  heathen,  who  approximate 
it,  furnish  us  with  proof.      In  turning  the  page 
of  the   historian  we  stop,  amidst  the    darkness 
and  ignorance  that  overspread  the  earth  in  the 
earlier  ages  of  the  world,  to  wonder  at  and  ad- 
mire the  progress  made  in  civilization  and  the 
arts  by  the   Egyptian   people.     We    see   them, 
forming  a  focus  of  illumination,  radiating  light 
and  imparting  instruction  to  all  neighboring  na- 
tions in  the  arts  and  sciences,  instructing  and 
enlightening  the  Greeks,,  and  they  in  turn   the 
Eomans,    and   they  the   nations   that  they   con- 
quered  or  colonized,  so  that  even  the  light  of 
Egyptian  lore,  and  the  splendor  of  Egyptian  glory, 
falling  over  the  interlapsing  centuries,  dawn  upon 
the  minds   of  men   at  this  day.     The  secret  of 
their   remarkable  civilization,  of    their   singular 
progress  in  the  arts,  of  their  varied  and  exten- 
sive learning,  of  their  wealth  and  prosperity  as  a 
people,  is  found  in  the  harmony  and  agreement 
in  their  teachings  and  practices  with  that  of  the 
people  whose  God  is  the  Lord.     In  their  civil 
polity  we  find  them  inculcating  a  benevolence  so 
extensive   that  he  who   refused  to   relieve  the 


a  nation's  true  source  of  happiness.    173 

wretched  when  in  his  power  was  put  to  death — a 
justice  so  impartial  that  their  judges  were  sworn 
never  to  do  anything  against  their  own  conscien- 
ces, though  a  sovereign  should  command  it — an 
aversion  so  great  to  bad  princes  as  to  deny  them 
funeral  rites  ;  an  estimate  of  human  life  which 
taught  that  their  houses  were  ruins  in  which  they 
lodged,  as  it  were,  only  for  a  night,  and  their  sep- 
ulchres were  habitations  in  which  they  abided  for 
ages  ;  hence  their  embalming.  Their  amusements 
even  were  of  such  a  nature  as  to  strengthen  their 
bodies  and  improve  their  minds.  They  had  such 
a  sacred  reverence  for  their  obligations  that  a 
borrower  of  money  had  to  pledge  the  body  of  a 
parent  as  security.  In  a  word,  such  was  their  wis- 
dom that  it  is  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures  as  an 
element  of  renown  of  Moses,  that  he  was  learned 
in  it. 

We  come  on  down  still  later,  and  our  attention 
is  arrested  by  the  magnificence  of  the  Persian 
Empire,  as  evidenced  by  the  distinguished  place 
of  honor  she  occupied  in  ancient  history.  The 
secret  of  her  greatness  is  seen  when  we  find  that 
it  was  the  custom  of  that  people  to  teach  their 
children  virtue  as  other  nations  taught  them  let- 
ters. They  also  taught  that  falsehood  was  the 
meanest  and  most  disgraceful  of  all  crimes.  They 
exercised  a  noble  generosity  in  conferring  favors 
on  those  they  conquered,    and  obligating    them- 


174  SERMONS. 

selves  to  publish  the  virtues  of  their  greatest 
enemies.  They  religiously  recorded  noble  and 
virtuous  actions,  and  transmitted  them  to  pos- 
terity in  public  registers.  They  put  their  rulers 
when  young  in  the  hands  of  the  wisest  and  best 
statesmen,  to  be  taught  their  worship,  to  speak 
the  truth  and  practice  equity,  to  subdue  voluptu- 
ousness, and  become  inspired  with  a  manly  cour- 
age. In  this  is  to  be  found  the  secret  of  their 
elevation  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  The 
same  truth  is  exemplified  in  the  history  of  the 
Greeks,  the  Medes,  the  Assyrians,  the  Eomans. 
In  truth,  every  people  or  society  that  has  ap- 
proached the  system  of  the  true  religion,  h  as  in 
the  same  ratio  become  exalted  in  the  earth. 

Finally,  that  people  is  happy  whose  God  is  the 
Lord,  because  they  are  under  the  especial  care 
and  protection  of  Providence.  As  God  has  an 
especial  care  and  providence  over  each  individual 
who  serves  Him,  so  He  has  an  especial  providence 
over  each  nation  that  serves  Him,  and  as  He  uses 
His  providences  as  chastisements  to  individuals  in 
order  that  they  may  be  corrected,  so  He  uses  them 
as  chastisements  to  nations,  in  order  to  call  them 
back  when  they  are  disposed  to  leave  or  forget 
Him. 

Now,  in  conclusion,  let  us  see  how  this  teach- 
ing is  exemplified  in  the  history  and  condi- 
tion of  this  country  and   people.     It  will  not  be 


a  nation's  true  source  of  happiness.    175 

denied  that  this  people  has  been  a  people  whose 
God  was  the  Lord,  and  it  may  be  said  now  that 
our  God  is  the  Lord,  and  we  should  acknowledge 
His  chastisements  as  well  as  His  blessings.  Look 
at  the  history  of  this  country.  No  people  have 
been  more  evidently  blest  and  raised  up  by  God, 
save  the  Jewish  people.  Look  at  the  early  strug- 
gles of  our  country,  what  our  ancestors  had  to 
contend  with,  and  tell  me  what  was  it  that  gave 
them  success  ?  Then  look  how  God  has  been 
with  the  nation,  blessing  it.  He  never  gave  to 
any  nation  such  intellect  to  guide  it,  such  pros- 
perity, and  peace,  and  wealth,  and  plenty.  Now, 
how  have  we  as  a  people  used  all  these  things  ? 
We  grew  proud,  became  money  worshippers,  were 
carried  away  with  fashion  and  extravagance, 
rolled  in  wealth,  and  luxury,  and  dissipation  ;  be- 
came formal  in  our  religion,  rejected  the  means 
instituted  of  Heaven,  and  relied  on  human  helps, 
such  as  fine  houses  of  worship,  rich  members  and 
eloquent  preachers,  until  God  has  laid  his  hand 
upon  us,  rolled  upon  us  a  tide  of  war  and  blood- 
shed, clothed  our  land  in  mourning,  in  order  that 
he  may  call  us  back  to  him.  I  think  I  can  see 
the  hand  of  God  in  it  all,  calling  us  away  from 
our  sins,  back  to  him  ;  it  is  one  of  his  chastise- 
ments. A  few  years  ago  our  granaries  were  full 
and  running  over,  now  they  are  empty.  Why  is 
this?     We  grew  fat  and  kicked  against  God,  and 


176  SERMONS. 

happy  will  we  be  if,  as  a  people,  we  hear  this 
voice  of  God,  and  return  unto  Him  who  is  our 
Lord. 


•uritj}  *rf  §tfavt 


"  BLssed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they  shill  see  God." — Matthew,  v,  8. 


The  text  is  the  benediction  of  the  Sou  of  G-od 
himself,  pronounced  upon  a  defined  class — the 
pure  in  heart.  In  taking  it  up  for  the  lesson  of 
this  hour,  and  for  this  occasion,  it  would  not  be 
untextual  to  discourse  to  3^011  upon  the  doctrine 
of  sanctification,  as  I  have  done  on  other  occa- 
sions with  it  as  my  theme.  I  propose,  however, 
not  to  do  so  at  this  time,  only  in  so  far  as  to  de- 
fine simply  what  is  meant  by  purity  of  heart, 
making  the  consequence  of  its  possession,  seeing 
God,  the  burden  of  our  theme  at  present. 

The  heart  in  its  natural  state  is  declared  in  the 
Scriptures  to  be  corrupt.  The  Saviour  himself 
likens  it  to  a  cage  of  unclean  birds,  to  a  waited 
sepulchre.  Out  of  it  proceed  murders,  adulter- 
ies, thefts  and  all  uncleanness.  In  the  atonement 
of  Christ,  provision  is  made  for  pardon,  and,  also, 
for  cleansing  the  heart  from  the  pollution  of  sin. 
Though  sin  be  as  scarlet  it  shall  become  as  wool, 
though  red  like  crimson  it  shall  become  whiter 
than  snow.     His  blood  cleanseth  from  all  sin  ;  a 


PURITY  OF  HEART.  177 

fountain  lias  been  opened  up  in  the  house  of 
David  for  all  sin  and  uncleanness,  so  that  all 
may  have  created  in  them  a  clean  heart,  and  re- 
newed within  them  a  right  spirit. 

This  teaching  is  verified  in  the  experiences  of 
men.  Any  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures  that 
does  not  involve  the  doctrine  of  total  defilement 
by  sin,  and  complete,  perfect  purification  from  it 
by  the  blood  of  atonement,  is  a  false  construction 
of  them,  and  are  erroneous  interpretations  of 
them.  Man  by  the  atonement  is  not  justified 
from  his  sins,  but  is  cleansed  from  them  by  the 
washing  of  regeneration.  Any  system  that  docs 
not  contain  this  in  its  thoroughness  and  complete- 
ness is  false,  and  deceptive,  and  ruinous.  He  is 
not  freed  from  the  susceptibility  to  temptation 
and  the  liability  to  yield  to  it  and  sin  again,  and 
never  will  be  until  his  probation  ends.  Just  the 
susceptibility  to  tempt,  and  the  liability  to  sin 
that  was  in  Adam  before  he  transgressed.  The 
line  of  distinction  should  be  kept  clearly  drawn 
between  this  state  and  the  state  in  which  some 
are  pleased  to  say  the  roots  and  seeds  of  bitter- 
ness and  sin  are  left  in  the  heart.  I  am  not 
going  now  to  argue  this  point,  but  simply  call  at- 
tention to  it  by  stating  it.  Purity  of  heart, 
therefore,  I  define  to  be  an  inward  change  and 
renovation  of  the  heart,  by  the  infusion  of  such  a 
principle  into  it  as  naturally  suits  and  complies 

9 


178  SERMONS. 

with  whatever  is  pure,  holy,  and  commanded  of 
God.  The  thought  is  pure.  The  first  step  and 
advance  of  the  soul  is  into  thought  ;  the  second 
into  desire,  and  desires  issue  out  of  the  will,  in 
which  is  located  the  seat,  and  scene,  and  source 
of  virtue  and  vice.  "As  a  man  thinketh  in  his 
heart,"  by  his  heart,  under  the  influence  of  his 
desire,  that  takes  its  coloring  from  his  will,  "  so 
is  he."  The  thought  directed  on  an  impure  ob- 
ject is  uncorrupted  until  it  is  seconded  by  the 
desire,  and  the  desire  demurs  at  once  if  the  will, 
out  of  which  it  proceeds,  has  been  brought  under 
the  purifying  influence  of  the  atonement ;  and  by 
God's  grace  being  given — in  answer  to  the  inter- 
cession of  Christ,  and  the  prayer  of  the  agent — 
the  fountain  of  the  heart  is  kept  pure  and  the 
object  is  passed  without  contamination.  If,  when 
the  thought  is  directed  to  an  impure  object,  the 
desire  is  in  harmony  with  the  object,  because  the 
will  is  corrupt  and  in  its  motion  gives  out  after 
impure  things,  giving  birth  to  desires  that  are  in 
harmony  with  impure  objects,  then  sin  is  the  re- 
sult. St.  James  says,  every  man  is  tempted 
when  he  is  drawn  away  by  his  own  lusts,  desires, 
and  enticed  ;  then  when  lust,  desire  hath  con- 
ceived, it  bringeth  forth  sin,  and  sin  when  it  is 
finished  bringeth  forth  death.  Right  here,  I  may 
remark,  is  to  be  found  the  kernel  of  all  the 
creeds  of  the  theologians  ;  here  in  a  nutshell  is  an 


PURITY  OF  HEART.  179 

embodiment  of  the  principles  out  of  which  have 
sprung  all  the  contrarieties  and  contradictions  of 
the  various  systems  erected  from  the  teachings 
of  the  Bible.  The  solution  of  them  all  is  to  be 
found  in  the  effect  of  the  atonement,  in  all  its 
agencies  and  appliances  upon  the  will  in  affect- 
ing it,  and  regulating  and  ruling  it  in  its  emo- 
tions and  choices,  as  the  germ  out  of  which  spring 
the  desires,  which  desires  control  the  thoughts, 
which  fructify  into  deeds,  and  all  these  combined 
make  the  character  of  the  moral  agent,  and 
whether  it  be  good  or  bad  will  depend  upon  the 
fact  whether  the  will  is  subdued  and  brought 
under  the  influence  of  the  atonement.  I  do  not 
propose  to  enter  the  fields  of  controversy  which 
open  out  from  this  standpoint,  and  have  come  to 
be  boundless,  seemingly,  in  their  ever  widening 
limits.  I  have  endeavored  to  get  out  this  defini- 
tion in  order  to  show  the  full  truth  of  the  Sa- 
viour's meaning  in  the  text.  This  definition, 
which  I  think  is  correct,  being  borne  out  in  the 
declaration  of  God's  word,  shows  the  seat  of 
purity  or  impurity  to  be  in  the  will,  shows  the 
connection  between  the  desires,  the  emotional 
nature  and  the  thought — the  intellectual  nature, — 
and  prepares  the  way  for  our  theme,  the  manner 
of  seeing  God,  by  the  pure  in  heart. 

I. — Then  a  pure  heart  puts  an  eye  to  man's 
intellect,  so  that  he  sees  God  in  His  relations  to 


180  SERMONS. 

this  planet  and  the  human  race.  Jesus  Christ — 
God  manifested  in  the  flesh,  crucified — is  the  rea- 
son for  the  creation  of  this  planet,  the  philosophy 
of  this  world.  All  things  were  created  by  Him 
and  for  Him.  This  earth  was  made  to  erect  His 
Cross  upon  it.  Take  down  His  Cross,  remove  it, 
and  take  away  whatever  attaches  to  it,  obliterate 
every  trace  of  it,  and  all  the  philosophers  of  the 
world  cannot  tell  what  this  planet  was  made  for, 
what  man  was  made  for,  whence  we  came  and 
whither  we  are  going.  In  His  Cross  centers  all 
terrestrial  truth.  It  is  the  embodiment  of  all 
truth.  God  did  not  see  this  planet  disconnected 
with  His  Cross.  He  does  not  now  look  upon  it 
except  through  the  Cross.  It  was  no  afterthought 
that  the  atonement  was  provided  to  meet  an  un- 
foreseen emergency  or  contingency.  The  Lamb 
was  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world. 
God  made  the  sun  to  shine  upon  it,  the  moon 
and  the  stars,  binds  it  in  its  orbit,  sends  it  on  its 
path,  to  the  achievements  and  triumphs  of  the 
principles  and  doctrines  bound  up  in  the  Cross. 
The  moment  the  ends  designed  through  the  Cross 
in  its  connection  with  this  planet  are  accomplished, 
the  existing  state  of  things  will  cease  ;  this  earth 
and  all  things  in  it  and  on  it  will  be  put  by  the 
great  hand  of  God  in  the  refining  crucible  of  the 
last  conflagration,  to  be  refined  and  refitted  for 
the  new  phase  of  things,  whatever  that  may  be, 


PURITY  OF  HEART.  181 

which  follows  this  grand  consummation  of  all 
things.  The  science  of  mind  and  the  science  of 
matter,  therefore,  embodying  all  human  wisdom, 
stand  of  necessity  ultimately  connected  with  the 
Cross,  and  all  lead  to  and  terminate  in  it  when 
followed  out  to  their  ultimate  sequences.  This 
being  true,  I  show  how  a  pure  heart  puts  an  eye 
to  the  intellect,  so  that  it  sees  God  in  His  rela- 
tions to  this  planet  and  the  human  race.  This 
will  more  clearly  appear  by  first  showing  how  an 
impure  heart  blinds  the  eye  of  the  intellect. 
When  the  thought  moves  on  the  line  of  truth  and 
perceives  it  terminating  in  God,  through  Jesus 
Christ,  ending  in  Him  and  radiating  from  Him, 
the  carnal  mind,  which  is  enmity  against  God, 
has  its  antagonism  at  once  stirred,  the  mists  and 
vapors  of  prejudice  rise  and  overspread  the  mind, 
and  obscure  the  mental  vision.  This  is  illustrated 
in  our  experience  with  each  other.  If  a  man 
hates  another,  whenever  his  name  is  mentioned, 
his  merits  discussed,  his  acts  referred  to,  the  an- 
tagonism of  the  man  influences  his  heart  against 
him,  and  his  prejudice  so  clouds  his  mind  that  he 
can  see  no  good  in  him,  attaches  sinister  motives 
to  him  in  any  good  that  he  does  ;  his  judgment  is 
warped  by  the  passions  of  his  heart,  his  intellect 
is  clouded  by  his  prejudices;  so  precisely,  only  in 
greater  degree,  with  the  carnal  mind  towards 
God.     This  may  account  for  the  fact  that  all  the 


182  SERMONS. 

great  discoveries  in  science  have  been  made  by 
Christian  philosophers.  I  do  not  remember  a 
single  instance  of  the  discovery  of  any  grand 
truth,  or  law,  or  principle,  by  an  atheist.  This 
may  and  does  account,  too,  for  the  absurdities  of 
infidels  in  regard  to  revealed  truth.  Men  of  great 
natural  endowments  and  fine  culture,  capable  of 
fine  analysis  of  abstract  and  remote  principles 
of  truth,  when  in  tracing  it  it  terminates  in 
God,  become  intellectually  confused,  blind  and 
absurd.  Take  the  case  of  Hume.  He  was  na- 
turally of  colossal  mind,  was  highly  cultivated,  a 
fine  logician,  a  philosopher.  We  must  allow  that 
he  was  sincere.  He  and  his  friends  would  claim 
that.  Now,  there  is  no  way  to  account  for  his 
false  logic  in  his  argument  against  the  miracles, 
the  fallacy  of  which  a  tyro  might  detect,  except 
on  the  ground  of  his  heart's  antagonism  to  Christ, 
which  blinded  his  intellectual  eye  with  the  mists 
of  prejudice.  So  with  Voltaire,  the  most  brilliant 
genius,  of  varied  learning,  the  head  and  front  of 
infidelity.  Men  of  royal  blood  and  princes  re- 
garded it  an  honor  to  be  numbered  among  his 
companions.  Yet  in  his  philosophical  writings 
he  perpetrates  the  greatest  absurdities  against 
the  Christian  religion.  His  heart  seems  to  flame 
like  a  furnace  whenever  he,  in  following  truth, 
comes  in  sight  of  God — the  smoke  of  the  bottom- 
less pit  would  not  more  effectually  obscure  his 


PURITY  OF  HEART.  183 

mental  vision.  So  with  all  that  class  of  men. 
And  so  to  a  great  extent  with  men  who  assent 
mentally  to  the  truth  of  religion,  but  have  impure 
hearts.  This  is  the  source  of  their  blunders.  The 
mind  connected  with  an  impure  heart  never  can 
act  with  freedom,  untrammelled,  never  can  reach 
the  loftiest  heights  of  truth,  and  scan  it  with  clear- 
ness of  perception.  The  intellect  needs  the  flame 
of  a  pure  heart  to  weld  the  links  of  the  chain  that 
binds  it  to  the  core  of  the  rock  of  truth.  It  needs 
that  the  Holy  Ghost  shall  erect  its  throne  in  the 
heart  to  God — shall  lay  its  fiery,  purifying  hand 
upon  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  that  it  kindle  its 
hearthstone  fires  in  the  chamber  of  the  passions 
to  warm  and  vivify  them  ;  then  the  heart,  all  aglow 
with  heavenly  flame,  sheds  its  softening  and  mel- 
lowing light  upon  the  intellect,  and  then  the  in- 
tellect, gazing  through  an  atmosphere  purified  by 
the  flashes  of  pentecostial  fire,  grasps  truth  with 
a  clearness  a  little  short  of  inspiration — follows 
its  luminous  track  through  the  hidden  labyrinths 
of  science — tracing  nature  through  all  her  secret 
wanderings  up  to  nature's  God — sees  God  in  all 
His  works — sees  Him  smile  in  every  flower  that 
blooms — feels  His  breath  in  every  invigorating 
breeze — hears  His  voice  in  every  morning  carol 
and  vesper  hymn — sees  His  power  in  the  heaving 
seas  and  the  towering  mountains,  His  goodness  in 
adapting  all  to  the  wants  of  His  creatures— sees 


184  SERMONS. 

that  it  is  all  for  Christ ;  and  he  looks  up  and  in 
the  vast  vault  he  sees  the  foot  of  the  Throne  of 
Gocl  in  all  those  shining  orbs — he  sees  them  as 
sentinels  of  the  brighter  glory  afar  off;  and  when 
he  has  looked  into  that  volume,  then  he  looks  into 
this,  and  sees  the  imprint  of  the  former  impressed 
upon  the  latter.  By  the  same  mystery  investing 
each  he  sees  that  He  "who  made  the  one  is  the 
author  of  the  other. 

II. — A  pure  heart  puts  an  eye  to  a  man's  faith, 
so  that  he  is  enabled  to  see  God  b}^  faith.  We 
are  constructed  on  the  faith  principle;  we  live  by 
faith ;  we  eat  and  drink  by  faith,  and  sleep  by 
faith;  we  do  everything  by  faith.  This  is  a  grand 
principle  implanted  within  us.  Our  surroundings 
so  far  as  they  relate  to  us  are  adjusted  to  this 
principle.  Eeligious  faith,  faith  that  saves,  is  an 
assent  of  the  mind  and  an  embrace  of  the  heart. 
"With  the  heart  man  believeth  unto  righteous- 
ness." The  mind,  stopped  of  its  antagonism  by  a 
pure  heart,  as  we  have  shown,  perceives  the 
truth  of  God's  word  and  assents  to  it.  Then,  in 
conjunction  with  a  pure  heart,  it  goes  a  step  far- 
ther. This  conjunction  of  a  pure  heart  and  assent- 
ing intellect  forms  a  sort  of  double  spiritual  lens 
through  which  the  soul  sees  God  by  the  power  of 
an  apprehending  faith.  The  light  of  God's  spirit 
falls  upon  the  lens  which  a  pure  heart  puts  to 
the  eye  of  a  man's  faith,  and  he  sees  God  spirit- 


PURITY  OF  HEART.  185 

ually  with  an  e}Te  of  faith.  "Faith  is  the  evidence 
of  things  not  seen."  The  natural  man  receiveth 
not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  neither  know- 
eth  them  ;  they  are  spiritually  discerned.  The 
spirit  of  God  receiveth  of  the  things  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  showeth  them  unto  us.  As  when  we 
look  upon  the  landscape  with  the  natural  eye  a 
scene  of  beauty  is  presented  in  the  blended  forms 
and  colors  ;  we  then  put  to  the  eye  the  tubes,  and 
distinctly  see  the  crags,  the  trees,  the  flowers,  the 
fruits  on  the  stem.  We  look  out  upon  the  ocean 
as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach.  Its  sheets  of  wrater, 
with  white  caps  and  rolling  billows,  stretch  far 
out  before  us,  mingling  sea  and  sky.  We  put  the 
tube  to  the  eye,  and  there  is  the  towering  mast, 
the  spreading  sail,  and  the  crew  pacing  the  deck. 
We  gaze  up  into  the  heavens  ;  the  planets  and 
the  nearer  stars  hang  out  their  crystal  lights  to 
the  natural  eye  as  they  deck  the  black  brow  of 
night.  We  put  the  tube  to  the  eye,  and  new 
worlds  come  into  view — worlds  whose  distant 
spheres  seem  to  tremble  on  the  very  verge  of  in- 
finity itself.  So  with  the  eye  of  the  intellect ;  we 
look  upon  the  works  of  God,  and  see  Him  in  His 
wisdom,  and  power,  and  goodness — -see  Him  in 
His  word — the  same  imprint  of  authorship  on  His 
word  that  we  observed  on  His  works,  and  our  intel- 
lectual admiration  is  excited.  But  when  the  heart 
is  made  pure  by  the  washing  of  regeneration,  it 

9* 


186  SERMONS. 

puts  a  tube,  combining  the  lens  of  a  believing 
heart  with  an  assenting  mind,  to  the  eye  of  our 
faith,  and  enables  us  to  penetrate  the  outer  sur- 
face and  go  into  the  regions  that  lie  out  of  sight 
to  the  natural  eye,  and  get  a  view  of  God  in  His 
relations,  by  faith,  as  we  saw  Him  not  before. 

There  is  the  natural  or  material  world  and  the 
spiritual — I  refer  not  now  to  that  which  lies  be- 
yond this  state  of  existence.  There  is  a  spiritual 
life  here  contradistinguished  from  the  natural  life  ; 
a  spiritual  world  hereabout,  within  reach  of  us, 
called  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  here — we  may 
call  it  the  vestibule  of  the  celestial  temple.  In 
this  spiritual  world  the  sun  of  righteousness  is  its 
light ;  the  Holy  Spirit  is  its  grand  reflector.  The 
eye  which  a  pure  heart  puts  to  faith  alone  enables 
us  to  see  this  light  and  behold  spiritual  things  in 
this  kingdom  of  grace.  The  natural  man  receiveth 
not  the  things  of  the  spirit  of  G-od — they  are  fool- 
ishness unto  him ;  neither  knoweth  them,  for 
they  are  spiritually  discerned.  Faith  is  the  evi- 
dence of  things  not  seen.  The  spirit  taketh  of  the 
things  of  Jesus  Christ  and  showeth  them  unto  us. 
The  prophet  and  the  apostles  got  the  loftiest  view 
of  God  in  his  spiritual  relations  to  humanity  that 
mortals  ever  enjoyed.  Paul,  you  remember,  on 
one  occasion  was  caught  up  to  what  he  called 
the  third  heaven  ;  whether  he  was  in  the  body  or 
out  of  the  body  he  could  not  tell,  he  was  so  ex- 


PURITY  OF  HEART.  187 

cited  by  what  lie  saw,  and  he  heard  things  that 
were  not  lawful  for  man  to  utter.     The  extent  of 
the  unfolding  of  spiritual  things  to  the  mind  under 
divine  inspiration  I  do  not  undertake  to  define. 
It  was  far  above  human  conception  ;  it  was  the 
imparting  to  it  of  something  of  the  power  of  the 
mind  of  the  Eternal,  by  which  it  could  not  only 
grasp  and  understand  God  in  his  spiritual  relation 
to  humanity,  but  foresee  and  foretell  future  events. 
Every  person  born  of  the  spirit,  made  a  new  crea- 
ture, has  given  him  a  new,  pure  heart ;  is  intro- 
duced into  this  kingdom  of  grace,  and  sees  Glod 
by  an  eye  of  faith  as  he  never  saw  him  before — 
sees  Glod  revealed  in  Jesus  Christ  as  his  personal 
Saviour.     No  conclusion  of  logic,  no  metaphysical 
analysis,  no  flight  of  fancy  nor  adventure  of  poetic 
genius  can  put  a  man  into  this  kingdom.     It  is 
above  philosophy — metaphysics  ;    it  lies  beyond 
the  wing  of  imagination.     Entrance  into  it  dis- 
cards all  the  rules  and  canons  of  the  philosophers  ; 
and  yet  the  humblest  individual,  the  most  unlet- 
tered peasant,  the  most  ignorant  African,  may,  by 
the  washing  of  regeneration,  come  into  it  alike 
with  the  scholar  and  philosopher,  and  gets  to  see 
G-od  in  his  kingdom  of  grace  as  well  and  as  clearly. 
They  are  spiritually  discerned  ;  sees  Him  revealed 
in  Christ  as  his  personal  Saviour.     With  the  eye  of 
his  intellect  he  saw  Him  as  the  Saviour  of  the  world 
— saw  the  testimonies  that  supported  His  claim — 


188  SERMONS. 

saw  the  beauty  of  His  life  as  He  lived  without  sin 
— saw  the  wisdom  and  purity  of  His  doctrines,  ad- 
mired the  grandeur  of  the  spectacle  which  He  pre- 
sented as  an  innocent  sufferer,  for  His  enemies — 
saw  Him  as  He  was  parted  from  His  disciples  and 
wrapped  in  a  chariot  of  cloud,  was  shouted  back 
to  heaven  by  a  triumphal  ode. 

All  this  comes  within  the  range  of  the  intellec- 
tual eye  ;  but  when  an  additional  lens  is  put  to  the 
eye  of  faith  he  sees  Him  living  for  Mm,  suffering 
for  Mm,  dying  for  Mm.  He  is  brought  in  spirit- 
ual contact  so  sensibly  that  he  feels  as  if  he  had 
looked  into  His  face,  heard  Him  speak,  seen  Him 
smile,  taken  Him  by  the  hand.  His  very  name 
becomes  dear  to  him.  Can  yon  account  for  the  in- 
terest awakened  by  the  mention  of  His  name  ? 
How  the  heart  clings  to  it — hopes  in  it  ?  Can  we 
feel  so  about  any  other  name  ?  We  revere  the 
memories  of  our  dead  heroes.  The  name  of  Wash- 
ington, or  Lee,  or  Jackson,  stirs  our  patriotic 
emotions,  but  the  name  of  Jesus  touches  a  chord 
in  our  hearts  that  no  other  name  can  reach.  It  is 
different  from  all  other  names.  The  man  who 
has  attained  this  purity  of  heart  has  reached  a 
spiritual  eminence  from  which  he  not  only  sees 
God,  but  sees  Him  in  a  different  light  from  those 
who  stand  at  the  base  of  that  eminence.  The  dif- 
ference in  the  clearness  and  distinctness  of  the 
view  is  as  great  as  the  difference  in  the  view  of 


PURITY  OF  HEART.  189 

the  man  who  stands  upon  the  top  of  the  mountain 
and  the  one  who  stands  at  its  base.  If  he  is  in 
prosperity  he  sees  God  in  it  all ;  not  like  the 
man  who  stands  at  the  base,  whose  vision  is  ob- 
structed and  who  attributes  his  success  to  chance, 
good  luck,  or  his  own  ingenuity.  From  the  top  of 
the  eminence  he  has  reached  the  man  who  is  pure 
in  heart,  can  see  the  hand  of  God  in  it  all. 
He  sees  the  hand  of  God  leading  out  the  clouds 
and  emptying  the  genial  shower  upon  the  earth. 
He  sees  God  in  the  waving  harvest  and  hears  him 
in  the  cracking  corn.  He  sees  Him  in  his  increas- 
ing wealth,  and  in  the  flush  of  health  that  glows 
on  his  cheek,  and  it  makes  him  happy,  blessed,  to 
thank  God  for  his  benefits. 

If  he  is  in  adversity  he  sees  the  hand  of  God 
in  it,  and  is  enabled  to  kiss  the  rod  that  smites 
him.  If  clouds  of  adversity,  dark  and  lowering, 
gather  in  his  sky,  he  sees  upon  them  what  no 
one  else  sees,  a  bow  of  light  mantling  their  dark 
crest,  because  there  is  no  cloud  so  black  and 
dark  to  him  that  it  does  not  reflect  the  smile  of 
God.  Should  those  clouds  ever  be  ungirted  and 
the  tempests  let  loose  upon  him,  should  the 
blighting  winds  of  adversity  blow  upon  him,  he 
holds  his  head  erect  amidst  the  storm,  for  he  sees 
that  the  same  breath  that  strikes  down  the  flower 
of  affection  by  his  side,  or  blasts  his  earthly  pros- 
pects, fills  the  sail  of  his  bark  to  waft  him  to  the 


190  SERMONS. 

port  of  bliss  ;  the  wave  that  breaks  over  his  head 
leaves  one  less  between  him  and  the  haven  of 
rest,  and,  tossed  upon  the  bounding  sea  of  life, 
as  the  needle  points  to  the  pole,  so,  looking  to 
Jesus  his  heart  trembles  to  the  star  of  Bethlehem, 
giving  direction  to  his  course. 

Finally,  the  pure  in  heart  shall  see  G-od  face  to 
face  in  the  world  to  come.  Here  "we  see  through 
a  glass  darkly ;  there,  face  to  face.'7  What  a  grand 
thought  is  here  unfolded  in  the  text,  "Shall  see 
God  !"  Think  of  it !  This  mysterious  Eternal 
Being  has  been  about  us  ever  since  we  have  had 
an  existence  ;  His  arm,  unseen,  has  been  under 
us  to  support  us ;  His  hand  has  been  over  us  to 
shield  us ;  we  have  seen  His  footprints  upon  the 
landscape,  felt  His  breath  in  the  breeze,  heard 
His  voice  rolling  along  the  heavens.  He  has 
even  come  into  our  souls,  but  the  time  is  coming 
when  the  veil  which  obstructs  our  vision  shall  be 
burst  asunder,  and  we  shall  see  His  face.  Oh, 
my  soul,  what  an  exciting  and  transporting  hour 
that  will  be  !  Think  of  it !  When  my  mind  has 
dwelt  upon  the  hour  of  my  dissolution,  this  has 
been  the  overwhelming  thought.  In  that  hour 
the  pain  of  death  is  not  felt ;  compared  to  this, 
the  shadows  of  the  grave  are  nothing.  The 
dreariness,  and  darkness,  and  stillness  of  the 
tomb  are  lost  in  the  grand,  absorbing  thought  of 
seeing  God.     Seeing  God !     I  would  like  to  see 


PURITY  OF  HEART.  191 

an  angel.  I  would  like  to  handle  his  harp,  and 
wave  his  palm,  and  see  him  fly.  This  would  be 
grand,  but  how  much  grander  to  see  God  !  God 
who  sifts  the  very  thoughts  of  men  ;  God  who 
fills  heaven  with  light.  Oh,  who  can  realize  it  ? 
There  are  two  incidents  on  record  which  impart 
to  us  some  faint  idea  of  this  seeing  of  God.  You 
remember  when  Christ  was  transfigured  on  the 
mount  ;  when  He  partially  assumed  His  true 
character,  His  face,  we  are  told,  did  shine  as  the 
sun,  and  His  raiment  was  white  as  snow,  and  the 
glory  of  His  person  burst  through  His  garments, 
and  a  bright  cloud  overshadowed  Him.  Peter  was 
so  overcome  by  the  sight,  so  overwhelmed  and 
overpowered  by  the  glory  of  His  presence,  that  it 
seemed  for  the  time  to  deprive  him  of  his  reason. 
In  perfect  ecstasy  he  shouted :  "Lord,  it  is  a  good 
thing  to  be  here.  Let  us  make  three  tabernacles 
— one  for  Thee,  and  one  for  Moses,  and  one  for 
Elias."  He  did  not  know  what  he  was  talking 
about ;  he  wanted  to  remain  and  live  there  in  all 
that  glory.  The  other  instance  was  the  mani- 
festation of  the  glory  of  God  to  Moses  on  the 
mount.  Under  the  direction  of  God  he  had  gone 
up  on  Mt.  Sinai  to  receive  the  law.  He  was  up 
there  forty  days  and  forty  nights,  amidst  the 
lightning  and  thundering  that  shook  the  whole 
mountain.  He  had  heard  the  voice  of  God  talk- 
ing in  the  storm,  and  he  had  seen  the  brightness 


192  SERMONS. 

of  His  glory  skirting  the  clouds,  and  his  curiosity 
was  so  much  excited  that  he  wanted  to  see  God  ; 
to  look  upon  Him  ;  and  he  asked  God  to  let  him 
see  Him.  God  told  him  that  this  could  not  be  ; 
that  no  man  could  look  upon  Him  and  live,  but, 
He  was  willing  to  go  as  far  as  He  could  in  grati- 
fying his  wishes,  so  He  took  Moses  and  put  him 
in  the  cleft  of  a  rock  and  covered  him  with  His 
hand,  and  as  He  passed  by  He  let  him  see  the 
hinder  part  of  the  shadow  of  His  glory,  and  it 
had  such  an  effect  on  Moses  that  when  he  came 
down  from  the  Mount  his  face  shone  so  brightly 
that  he  had  to  put  a  veil  over  his  face  so  that  the 
children  of  Israel  could  come  near  enough  to  hear 
him  talk.  This  gives  us  a  faint  idea  of  what  it 
will  be  to  see  God  face  to  face.  If  it  had  such 
an  effect  on  Peter  to  stand  off  and  look  upon  the 
transforming  glory  of  God  ;  if  it  had  such  an  effect 
on  Moses,  to  get  under  a  cleft  of  the  rock  and 
see  the  hinder  part  of  the  glory  of  God  pass  by, 
oh,  what  will  it  be  when  these  bodies  of  ours  are 
so  changed  as  that  we  can  stand  before  the  throne 
and  look  into  the  face  of  the  living  God !  "Blessed 
are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall  see  God." 
See  him  here  by  the  eye  of  faith,  and  in  heaven 
face  to  face. 


THE  RESURRECTION.  193 


©lw  Witmxttdiou. 


"  Knowing  that  lie  which  raised  up  the  Lord  Jesus  shall  raise  us  up  also 
ly  Jesus." — 2  Cor.  iv.  14. 

"But  some  will  say,  Ecw  are  the  dead  raised  vp?  and  with  what  ledy 
do  they  come  V — 1  Cor.  xv.  35. 


No  system  makes  provision  for  the  body  after 
death,  I  believe,  save  the  Christian  system.     A 
fine  old  theory  was  once   taught   by  the   classic 
heathen  to  this  effect:  that  God  was  the  soul  of 
the  world,  and  that  the  soul  of  man  was  an  ex- 
cerpted part  of  God,  that  it  was  separated  from 
him  for  a  time  to  be   reunited  again  by  infusion 
at  death.     They  illustrated  their  theory  by  a  bot- 
tle filled   with  sea  water  and  thrown  upon   the 
bosom  of  the  sea.     The  water  in  the  bottle  is  sep- 
arated from  the  water  in  the  sea  until  by  contact 
the  bottle   is  broken  and  then  a  reunion  takes 
place  ;  the  water  in  the  bottle  becomes  lost  in  the 
waves   of  the   sea ;    so  the  soul  in  death  is  re- 
united to  and  is  lost  in  God.      No  provision  is 
made  in  this  theory  for  the  body.     So  with  all 
other  theories  and  systems.     It  is  the  glory  and 
peculiarity  of  the  Christian  system  to  teach  the 
resurrection  of   the   body.     The  resurrection    of 
the  body  is  indissolubly  connected  with  and  is 
a  consequence  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  and 
upon   His  resurrection  is  made   to   depend   the 


194  SERMONS. 

truth  of  the  whole  system  of  Christianity. 
Hence,  in  making  out  and  establishing  the  doc- 
trine of  the  resurrection,  and  to  establish  the 
truths  of  Christianity,  it  is  only  necessary  to 
prove  the  resurrection  of  Christ.  And  since 
His  resurrection  holds  such  important  connec- 
tion to  the  whole  system  which  He  taught,  it  is 
necessary  to  establish  the  fact  beyond  all  doubt. 
"  For  if  Christ  be  not  raised  from  the  dead,  then 
is  our  preaching  vain,  and  your  faith  is  also  vain." 
I  am  glad  that  the  proof  is  furnished  in  propor- 
tionate magnitude  with  the  subject. 

Now,  it  is  agreed  by  all  parties,  that  Christ 
lived  at  the  time  it  is  alleged  that  He  did.  Pro- 
fane historians  speak  of  Him.  It  is  also  agreed 
that  He  was  put  to  death.  Infidels  admit  this. 
It  is  also  agreed  that  He  was  missing  from  the 
tomb  in  which  He  was  laid,  on  the  third  morning. 
No  dispute  about  that.  The  great  point  in  dis- 
pute, the  great  matter  of  contention,  is  the  man- 
ner of  His  departure.  The  enemies  of  Christ 
have  labored  long  and  hard  to  prove  that  He  was 
taken  away  from  the  tomb  by  human  contrivance, 
for  they  very  well  understand,  that  if  they  over- 
turn the  doctrine  of  His  resurrection  the  whole 
system  falls  to  naught. 

Now,  there  were  three  ways  only  in  which  He 
could  have  left  that  tomb — He  was  either  taken 
away  by  His  enemies,  or  by  His  friends,  or  by  His 


THE  RESURRECTION.  195 

own  power  as  God  He  arose.  If  we  show  that  He 
was  not  taken  away  by  His  enemies,  or  His 
friends,  then  it  follows  that  He  arose.  His  ene- 
mies did  not  take  Him  away — they  say  they  did 
not — but  charge  His  friends  with  having  stolen 
the  body.  Besides,  as  proof  conclusive,  if  they 
had  taken  Him  away  they  would  have  produced 
the  body  in  the  prosecution  of  the  Apostles,  to 
have  convicted  them  of  falsehood  when  they 
preached  that  He  had  risen.  They  would  have 
gloried  in  an  opportunity  of  that  character.  This, 
however,  was  not  on  any  occasion  done. 

Yery  well ;  we  allege  that  his  friends  did  not 
steal  Him  away.  The  only  evidence  that  they 
did,  is  the  testimony  of  the  soldiers  who  guarded 
the  tomb — and  that  testimony  refutes  itself. 
They  said  that  whilst  they  slept  His  disciples 
came  and  stole  Him  away.  I  am  not  going  to 
dwell  long  upon  their  testimony.  You  are  familiar 
with  the  argument  for  its  refutation.  It  has  fre- 
quently been  put  to  you  in  this  wise  :  they  were 
either  asleep  or  awake.  If  asleep,  how  did  they 
know  who  stole  Him  away  ?  or  that  He  was  stolen 
away  at  all?  Suppose  a  witness  shall  testify  in 
open  court  that  an  occurrence  took  place  whilst 
he  was  asleep.  Why,  he  would  be  hissed  out  of 
court.  They  were  not  asleep,  then,  if  they  could 
testify  that  He  was  stolen  ;  and,  if  they  were 
awake,  why  did  they  allow  it?     Is  it  a  probable 


196  SERMONS. 

story  that  sixty  armed  men  could  be  overpowered 
"by  a  little  band  of  disciples  unarmed,  and  a  few 
women  ;  yes,  a  few  women,  for  when  mercy  had 
forsaken  the  court,  and  pity  had  fled  from  the 
bosom  of  the  High  Priesthood,  and  all  men 
turned  against  Him — there  were  a  few  women 
who  dared  to  feel,  and  weep,  and  lament  loudly,  as 
the  sufferer  passed  by  on  His  way  to  Calvary, 
and  stood  mourning  at  the  Cross  and  at  His 
grave.  I  repeat,  is  it  probable  that  this  dis- 
pirited little  band  and  a  few  women  could- have 
taken  by  force  the  body  from  the  guard  ?  As  an 
evidence  that  no  importance  was  attached  to  the 
testimony  of  these  soldiers,  they  were  never  in- 
troduced in  any  prosecution  against  the  disciples 
as  testimony.  And  right  here  I  notice  a  remark 
of  Gamaliel.  When  they  had  the  disciples  on 
trial,  upon  one  occasion,  after  looking  at  the  tes- 
timony— having  heard  this  story  of  the  soldiers, 
doubtless — he  told  them  they  had  better  let  those 
men  alone  ;  that  if  it  be  of  God  they  could  not 
overthrow  it,  and  if  of  men,  it  would  come  to 
naught.  We  come  forward  here,  in  this  nine- 
teenth century,  on  the  anniversary  of  his  resur- 
rection, to  claim  the  benefit  of  his  argument. 

It  has  not  come  to  naught,  nor  is  it  at  all  likely 
to  do  so.  We  bring  the  millions  of  its  advocates. 
We  bring  its  engines  and  presses — its  halls  of  let- 
ters.    We  briug  the  echo  of  her  giant  tread  and 


THE  RESURRECTION.  197 

claim  that  it  is  not  likely  to  come  to  naught,  for 
she  begins  to  step  like  a  giant  now. 

The  proof,  then,  that  his  disciples  did  not 
steal  Him  away,  is  conclusive,  and  we  have  the 
right,  by  all  the  rules  of  reasoning,  to  claim,  as 
the  conclusion  of  this  argument,  that  the  third 
manner  specified — that  He  arose  by  the  power  of 
G-od — was  the  manner  in  which  He  left  the  tomb. 
But,  we  go  a  step  further,  and  bring  forward  cor- 
roborating and  sustaining  proof,  so  that  the  least 
shadow  of  doubt  may  be  taken  away,  if  still  left 
surrounding  the  subject.  We  have  the  direct, 
plain,  consistent  testimony  of  the  disciples  that 
He  did  arise.  We  have  seen  the  character  of 
the  testimony  against  his  resurrection,  and  what- 
ever value  it  possesses,  as  we  have  seen,  is  the 
evidence  it  furnishes  of  the  truth  of  that  it  is  in- 
tended to  overthrow. 

We  propose  to  test  the  evidence  of  His  disci- 
ples ;  and,  before  entering  upon  this  branch  of 
the  subject,  it  would  be  well,  perhaps,  to  notice 
Hume's  celebrated  argument  that  has  sent  con- 
sternation to  the  hearts  of  some  and  caused  a 
chuckle  of  supposed  triumph  with  the  skeptic. 
It  is  this :  ' '  Human  testimony  is  a  kind  of  evi- 
dence more  likely  to  be  false  than  that  a  miracle 
should  occur  ;  the  evidence  on  which  the  Christ- 
ian miracles  are  believed  is  human  testimony  ; 
therefore,  the  evidence   on  which  the   Christian 


198  SERMONS. 

miracles  are  believed  is  more  likely  to  be  false  than 
that  a  miracle  should  occur  f  in  other  words,  we 
have  more  reason  to  expect  that  a  witness  should 
lie  than  that  a  miracle  should  occur,  as  it  comes 
under  our  observation  that  witnesses  do  lie  and 
it  never  has  been  observed  by  us  that  a  miracle 
has  occurred.  Now  the  fallacy  of  this  argument 
is  easily  detected,  and  it  lies  in  the  first  premise — 
"Human  testimony  is  a  kind  of  evidence  more 
likely  to  be  false  than  a  miracle  to  be  true." 
Admit  that,  then  the  conclusion  would  inevitably 
follow  ;  for  the  second  premise  is  that  the  evidence 
upon  which  the  Christian  miracles  are  believed,  is 
human  testimony.  But  we  deny  the  truth  of  the 
first  premise.  All  testimony  is  not  more  likely  to 
be  false  than  a  miracle  to  occur.  If  he  had  said 
some  human  testimouy  or  even  the  testimony  of 
most  persons  was  more  likely  to  be  false  than  a 
miracle  to  be  true,  then  we  would  have  granted  it ; 
but  his  conclusion  would  not  have  followed,  unless 
he  could  have  shown  that  the  evidence  upon  which 
the  Christian  miracles  are  believed  is  that  kind  of 
testimony.  This  he  very  well  knew.  We  there- 
fore, in  attacking  his  argument,  attack  his  first 
premise,  and  show  that  it  is  untrue — that  all  tes- 
timony (for  this  is  implied,  unless  the  term  be 
qualified)  is  more  likely  to  be  false  than  a  miracle  to 
be  true  ;  and  we  do  so  by  showing  that  the  testi- 
mony  of  the   disciples  of  Christ,  touching   His 


THE  RESURRECTION.  199 

resurrection,  is  the  kind  of  testimony  that  is  more 
likely  to  be  true  than  the  evidences  of  a  miracle 
witnessed  by  our  own  eyes. 

First,  they  give  a  plain,  simple  account  of  the 
matter,  without  expression  of  astonishment,  with- 
out attempting  to  account  for  it,  each  in  his  own 
way.  They  do  not  all  state  it  in  the  same  lan- 
guage.    This  is  in  its  favor. 

In  the  second  place,  they  were  incredulous 
themselves.  When  they  saw  Him  tamely  submit 
they  all  forsook  Him,  and  Peter  cursed,  and 
swore  he  did  not  know  Him.  They  thought, 
doubtless,  they  were  imposed  upon — or  allow  it 
was  fear,  and  it  makes  the  point  still  stronger  ; 
would  they  have  ever  espoused  His  cause  again  if 
they  had  not  indubitable  evidence  that  He  had 
arisen  ?  Would  they  have  run  the  risk  ?  What 
had  they  to  gain  by  it — wealth,  place,  power  ?  He 
is  dead.  Was  it  natural  that  they  would  have 
espoused  His  cause  ?  If  I  were  the  rankest  infi- 
del on  earth,  did  not  at  all  believe  that  Christ 
arose,  I  should  be  compelled  to  believe,  under  all 
the  circumstances,  that  the  disciples  thought  hon- 
estly that  He  did.  Yery  well,  just  allow  that  they 
were  honest,  and  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  show  that 
they  could  not  be  mistaken.  They  saw  Him,  con- 
versed with  Him  and  handled  Him.  He  appeared 
to  Mary  Magdalene  at  the  sepulchre  on  the  morn- 
ing He  arose,  then  the  same  day  to  three  or  four 


200  SERMONS. 

other  women  on  their  way  from  the  sepulchre. 
That  evening  to  CLeopas  and  another  disciple  on 
their  way  to  Emmaus.    Soon  after  to  Simon  Peter, 
then  to  ten  of  His  disciples  in  Jerusalem.    On  the 
next  Sabbath  after  His  resurrection  He  appeared 
to  the  eleven.    Again,  He  appeared  to  the  eleven 
apart  in  a  mountain.     On  several  other  occasions 
they  saw  Him.    You  remember  the  first  time  He 
appeared  to  the   disciples  collectively.     Thomas 
was  absent.     When  they  met  with  him,  they  tell 
him,  "sure  enough,  Thomas,  contrary  to  our  ap- 
prehension,   He  has   arisen  ;   we   saw  Him  and 
talked  with  Him."     Thomas  declares  he  will  not 
believe   unless    he   has   the   most   unmistakable 
proof.     The  next  time  He  appears  Thomas  is  pres- 
ent.    The  Saviour  knew  what  he  had  said,  and  I 
suppose  called   him,  "Come  here,  Thomas — put 
your  fingers    in   the  prints  of  the    nails — thrust 
your  hand  in  my  side,  and  be  not  faithless,  but 
believing." 

Was  Thomas  mistaken?  If  honest,  he  could 
not  have  been  mistaken.  Ah,  but  perhaps  some 
will  say,  it  was  imagination — they  were  looking  out 
for  something  of  the  kind,  and  it  was  imagina- 
tion. With  the  same  argument  I  can  prove  that 
everything  and  anything  is  imagination.  These 
benches,  this  pulpit,  and  you,  are  all  beings  imagi- 
nary. He  finally  appeared  to  more  than  five 
hundred— could  all  of  these  have  been  mistaken  ? 


THE  RESURRECTION.  201 

Again,  they  commenced  preaching  right  in  Jeru- 
salem ;  went  to  Rome  also,  into  Greece,  too  ;  did 
not  go  into  some  obscure,  ignorant  community. 
As  they  went  they  told  them  they  would  give 
proof  such  as  they  could  realize.  Told  them,  now 
if  you  do  not  believe,  fetch  out  your  dead,  and 
we  will  put  life  into  them  ;  bring  hither  your 
blind,  and  we  will  turn  upoa  those  sightless  balls 
the  light  of  Heaven  ;  let  the  lame  be  brought,  and 
they  shall  leap  as  an  hart ;  fetch  the  dumb,  and 
we  will  make  them  sing.  All  this  was  done  and 
admitted.  Again,  Christ  had  said,  if  I  go  away  the 
comforter  will  come.  I  will  pour  out  my  spirit. 
And  whilst  these  men  were  preaching,  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost,  Christ  and  the  resurrection,  the  prom- 
ise was  fulfilled,  as  the  Holy  Grhost  like  a  sheet  of 
flame  fell  upon  them,  and  cloven  tongues  of  fire 
sat  upon  them,  and  they  began  to  speak  in  divers 
tongues — in  the  language  of  every  nation  repre- 
sented there  on  that  occasion. 

Take  all  these  proofs,  and  much  additional 
might  be  given  ;  take  these  and  connect  them  with 
the  argument  first  drawn,  as  corroborating  testi- 
mony, and  it  puts  the  fact  of  our  Saviour's  resur- 
rection beyond  all  doubt,  for  these  proofs  show 
that  the  testimony  of  the  disciples  is  the  kind  of 
testimony  that  is  more  likely  to  be  true  than 
false. 

We  now  approach  the  second   brand}  of  our 

10 


202  SERMONS. 

subject — our  resurrection.  It  requires  but  little 
labor  to  establish  this,  for  it  follows  as  a  conse- 
quence of  Christ's  resurrection.  Allow  that  he 
arose,  and  this  is  an  admission  that  we  shall  rise. 
"If  the  Spirit  of  Him  that  raised  up  Jesus  from 
the  dead  dwell  in  you,  He  that  raised  up  Christ 
from  the  dead  shall  also  quicken  your  mortal 
bodies  by  His  Spirit  that  dwelleth  in  you."  This 
is  admitted.  But  the  question  occurs  as  to  the 
manner  of  our  resurrection.  Some  man  will  say, 
"  how  are  the  dead  raised  up?  And  with  what 
bodies  do  they  come  ?"  We  answer,  that  the 
same  bodies  laid  in  the  grave  are  to  be  the  bodies 
raised.  There  are  objections  to  this,  I  know,  and 
these  objections  have  been  answered  by  some 
theologians  with  hypotheses  that  it  will  not  be 
the  same  body,  but  that  our  bodies  contain  the 
germ  of  the  new  spiritual  body,  and  this  thing  is 
supported  by  this  teaching  :  ' '  That  which  thou 
sowest,  thou  sowest  not  that  body  that  shall  be, 
but  bare  grain,  it  may  chance  of  wheat  or  some 
other  grain,"  etc.  Now,  if  this  be  true,  there  is  no 
resurrection,  but  in  one  sense  a  new  creation. 
We  deposit  a  grain  of  wheat  in  the  soil ;  who 
thinks  of  calling  the  stalk,  and  blade,  and  ear,  a 
resurrection  of  the  grain  ?  But  in  the  face  of  all 
objection,  we  rest  our  faith  in  the  resurrection  of 
the  identical  body  upon  the  manner  of  Christ's 
resurrection.     The  explicit  teaching  is  that  His  is 


THE  RESURRECTION.  203 

a  type  of  ours — that  as  He  arose,  so  shall  we  arise. 
"  It  does  not  appear  what  we  shall  be,  but  when 
He  shall  appear  we  shall  be  like  Him  " — our  bodies 
shall  be  fashioned  like  unto  His  glorious  body. 
How  did  He  come  up  ?  With  the  same  body. 
How  did  they  know  ?  By  the  same  features,  the 
prints  of  the  nails,  and  the  spear. 

This  body  He  carried  with  Him;  He  did  not  drop 
it ;  it  was  never  found.  As  far  as  they  could  see, 
He  went  up  with  it.  When  shall  this  be  ?  At 
the  last  day.  I  expect  to  know  you  in  the  same 
way  the  disciples  knew  Christ,  When  the  human 
race  shall  have  accomplished  their  day  ;  when  the 
high  purposes  for  which  God  created  man  and 
placed  him  upon  earth  shall  have  been  accom- 
plished, then  the  Lord,  the  Judge,  shall  descend 
from  heaven  with  a  shout,  to  call  the  genera- 
tions of  earth  to  the  grand  reckoning.  And,  my 
friends,  I  have  thought  it  shall  be  the  grandest 
and  sublimest  spectacle  the  earth  shall  behold. 
Ah,  my  friends,  it  was  a  grand  sight,  I  know,  for 
angels  to  witness,  when  the  earth,  spoken  from 
naught,  started  out  on  her  first  journeying 
through  the  heavens,  as  she  flew,  mystically, 
sparkling  and  brilliant,  in  her  untried  path.  The 
morning  stars  sang  and  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for 
joy  ;  but  when  Christ  shall  come  with  his  shining- 
train,  his  approach  shall  be  heralded  by  the  trum- 
pet voice  of  the  great  archangel,  and,  as  its  swell- 


204  SERMONS. 

ing  tones  shall  come  booming  over  the  air,  calling 
a  halt  to  earth,  its  echo  shall  be  heard  low  down 
in  the  grave ;  and  whilst  the  earth  shall  tremble 
from  her  sudden  arrest,  the  little  particles  of  dust 
shall  begin  to  stir  themselves  and  each  seek  out 
its  fellow  ;  bone,  spiritualized,  shall  come  to  its 
fellow  bone.  Christ  shall,  in  imitation  of  the  first 
life-giving  act  to  man,  breathe  upon  earth  and  the 
sea,  and  the  teeming  millions  of  the  dead,  ani- 
mated, shall  come  flocking  to  the  surface  in  the 
twinkling  of  an  eye.  I  have  thought  it  would  be 
a  grand  sight  in  that  hour  to  take  a  position  near 
some  old  family  graveyard,  or  church  burying 
ground  or  cemetery,  where  parents  and  children 
have  slept  side  by  side  in  silence  for  ages  ;  grand 
to  witness  whole  families  coming  up  together — to 
witness  the  recognitions  and  greetings.  I  gaze, 
and  as  I  gaze  my  soul  catches  strange  fire.  I  see 
the  old  saint  just  up  from  his  dusty  bed ;  standing 
on  the  brink  of  his  grave,  looking  back  into  its 
disappointed  mouth,  he  raises  the  shout  over  it, 
"0,  grave!  where  is  thy  victory?"  and,  as  his 
shout  reverberates  through  the  earth,  others 
catch  it  up.  Then  rises  the  swelling  chorus,  ac- 
companied by  the  notes  of  angels,  with  swept 
harps  :  "  Thanks  be  to  God,  which  giveth  us  the 
victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

But  there  is  another  resurrection.  There  is  a 
resurrection  of  damnation.  What  sort  of  robes 
shall  they  wear  ?     God  save  us  from  it !     Amen. 


TITE  lord's  SUrPER.  205 


Sfce  HwA'0  gwypx. 


"For  even  Christ,  our  passover,  is  sacrificed  for  us;  therefore  let  us  keep 
the  feast,  not  with  old  leaven,  neither  with  the  leaven  of  malice  and  ivicked- 
ness,  but  with  the  unleavened  bread  of  sincerity  and  truth." — 1  Cor.,  v.  7,  8. 


You  perceive  that  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  is  the  theme  of  the  text.  As  such  we 
have  three  things  taught  in  it : 

I.  Christ  crucified  is  the  true  passover,  of  which 
the  Jewish  was  a  type. 

II.  That  it  is  the  duty  of  all  who  believe  in 
Christ  as  a  sacrifice  for  sin  to  keep  the  Christian 
passover  or  feast,  in  remembrance  of  this  fact. 

III.  The  manner  in  which  it  should  be  done  ; 
and,  in  conclusion,  we  notice  the  effect  of  its 
proper  observance. 

We  proceed  to  take  up  the  first  thing  taught — 
that  Christ  crucified  is  the  true  passover.  This 
is  based  upon  the  first  clause  of  the  text,  ' '  For 
even  Christ,  our  passover,  is  sacrificed  for  us." 
In  the  twelfth  chapter  of  Exodus  we  have  a  mi- 
nute, specific  account  of  the  Jewish  passover. 
The  Jews  had  been  in  Egypt  several  hundred 
years,  and  when  at  length  they  desired,  under 
God's  promise  and  direction,  to  go  to  the  prom- 
ised Canaan,  the  Egyptian  rulers  held  on  to  them 
with  tenacious  grasp.     These  rulers  knew,  that  if 


200  SERMONS. 

they  permitted  them  to  go,  Egypt  would  suffer  a 
loss  of  many  of  her  best  citizens.  Their  revenue 
would  be  greatly  decreased  and  the  country  de- 
prived of  much  of  its  numerical  strength,  as  there 
were  more  than  six  hundred  thousand  men,  be- 
sides the  women  and  children.  But  God.  sym- 
pathizing with  their  down-trodden  condition,  see- 
ing that  they  were  burdened,  and  taxed,  and 
oppressed,  and  remembering  his  covenant,  sent 
Moses  to  deliver  them.  Various  scourges  were 
sent  upon  the  land,  and  plagues  in  divers  ways — 
plagues  of  locusts,  of  frogs,  of  lice,  of  darkness — 
but  still,  Pharaoh's  heart  being  hardened,  he  re- 
fused to  let  them  go.  G-od  determined  to  visit 
him  and  his  people  with  one  more  plague — the 
death  of  all  the  first  born  of  man  and  beast.  God 
accordingly  had  the  Israelites  apprised  of  his 
purpose,  and  had  directions  given  them,  by  fol- 
lowing which  they  might  escape  the  effects  of  the 
plague.  They  were  to  take  a  lamb  and  kill  it, 
take  the  blood  and  sprinkle  it  upon  their  door 
posts,  and  then  remain  within  their  houses,  with 
all  their  families,  on  the  night  of  the  plague,  so 
that  when  the  destroying  angel  should  sweep  over 
the  land,  slaying  all  the  first  born,  when  he  came 
to  a  dwelling  having  blood  sprinkled  on  the  door 
post  he  would,  according  to  instructions  given 
him,  pass  over  the  dwelling  (hence  the  term  pass- 
over),  leaving  the  first   born   unharmed.     Thus 


the  lord's  supper.  207 

they  might  escape  ;  without  it  they  could  not,  for 
wherever  this  blood  was  not  found  on  the  door 
post,  whether  Jewish  dwelling  or  Egyptian,  the 
first  born  perished.  We  may  well  suppose  that 
the  shock  was  tremendous.  Stillness  pervaded  the 
unsuspecting  land ;  the  stars  in  silence  looked 
down  as  on  previous  nights  ;  the  Eg}rptians  had 
retired  to  rest ;  the  night  bird  had  finished  his 
hymn  and  dropped  his  head  in  slumber  on  his 
breast.  The  destroying  angel  starts  out  on  his 
mission,  the  rustle  of  his  wings  not  heard  as  he 
sweeps  over  their  dwellings.  Suddenly  an  alarm 
is  given.  In  every  house  the  lights  are  raised, 
the  families  are  aroused.  Moses  tells  us  there 
was  a  great  cry  throughout  all  the  land  of  Egypt, 
such  as  was  never  the  like,  and  shall  never  be 
again.  Mourning,  and  wailing,  and  lamentation 
were  heard  in  the  house  of  the  king  as  well  as  the 
humblest  hovel,  for  there  was  not  a  house  where 
there  was  not  one  dead.  It  had  the  desired  effect. 
The  king  consented  that  they  might  go.  That 
night  he  sent  for  Moses  and  Aaron,  told  them  to 
go,  to  be  in  a  hurry  about  it,  to  take  his  servants 
and  flocks,  and  asked  him  to  pray  for  him  that  the 
curse  might  be  stayed.  All  the  other  plagues 
had  failed.  This  was  typical  and  effectual.  The 
Israelites,  under  the  direction  of  God  through 
Moses,  instituted  a  solemn  feast,  called  the  Feast 
of  the  Passover,  in  commemoration  of  this  deliv- 


208  SERMONS. 

erance,  and  it  was  instituted  to  be  kept  np  annu- 
ally throughout  their  dispensation.  There  is  a 
grandeur  and  beauty  investing  the  rites  and  cere- 
monies of  the  old  dispensation  "which  we  fail  to 
perceive,  unless  we  use  seme  care  to  give  ihem  a 
thorough  examination,  and  such  is  their  symbolic 
character  that  a  thorough  knowledge  of  them  is 
found  to  be  almost  indispensable  in  thoroughly 
comprehending  and  understanding  the  great  doc- 
trines of  the  gospel. 

On  the  evening  before  the  feast  of  the  Passover 
men  were  sent  out  to  herald  the  time  of  the  annual 
feast.  Signal  fires  were  kindled  upon  the  high 
mountains,  until  the  signals  announcing  the  ap- 
proach of  the  feast  blazed  all  over  the  land.  On 
the  next  morning  vast  crowds  would  press  into 
Jerusalem,  and  the  lambs  were  slain.  Christ,  in 
obedience  to  the  laws  and  ceremonies,  which  he 
expressly  told  them  he  came  not  to  destroy  but 
to  fulfil,  just  before  his  crucifixion,  celebrated  the 
Passover  with  his  disciples.  And  on  that  night 
he  changed  it,  for  it  would  be  no  longer  necessary 
to  sacrifice  a  lamb  as  a  type  of  that  sacrifice  which 
he  knew  would  have  taken  place  before  the  next 
annual  feast.  So  after  he  had  eaten  of  the  Pass- 
over, "in  the  same  night  in  which  he  was  be- 
trayed, took  bread,  and  when  he  had  given  thanks 
he  brake  it  and  said :  Take,  eat ;  this  is  my  body 
which  is  broken  for  you ;  this  do  in  remembrance 


the  lord's  supper.  209 

of  me.  After  the  same  manner  also  he  took  the 
cup,  when  he  had  supped,  saying :  This  cup  is  the 
new  testament  in  my  blood ;  this  do  ye  as  oft  as 
ye  drink  it  in  remembrance  of  me.  For  as  often 
as  ye  eat  this  bread  and  drink  this  cup  ye  do  show 
the  Lord's  death  till  he  come."  Thus  by  Christ 
himself  this  simple,  and  beautiful,  and  appropriate 
ceremony  called  His  Supper  was  substituted  for 
the  Jewish  Passover.  As  the  Jews  partook  of 
theirs  so  we  partake  of  ours. 

We  now  take  up  the  second  proposition  con- 
tained in  the  text :  That  it  is  the  duty  of  all  who 
believe  in  Christ  as  a  sacrifice  for  sin  to  keep  this 
feast,  to  partake  of  this  sacrament.  ' '  Therefore 
let  us  keep  the  feast."  The  first  argument  we 
offer  in  support  of  this  proposition  is  drawn  from 
the  nature  of  the  old  Passover  in  its  binding  force 
upon  the  Jews.  It  was  obligatory  upon  them  to 
keep  the  feast  of  the  Passover  throughout  their 
generation,  for  Moses  commanded  them  that  they 
should  observe  this  for  an  ordinance  for  them  and 
their  sons  forever ;  and  whosoever  failed  to  do  so 
should  be  cut  off  from  the  congregation  of  Israel. 

As  the  Lord's  Supper  is  a  substitute  for  the 
Passover,  we  argue  that  its  observance  is  as  bind- 
ing upon  the  Christian  as  the  Passover  was  upon 
the  Jew ;  as,  being  a  substitute,  it  should  hold  the 
same  connection  in  all  its  obligations  and  in  every- 
thing appertaining  to  it  with  the  Christian  in  the 

10* 


210  SERMONS. 

new  dispensation  that  the  Passover  did  with  the 
Jew  in  the  old  dispensation.  Farther,  that  this 
sacrament  was  not  confined  simply  to  the  Apos- 
tles, but  is  binding  in  its  observance  upon  all 
Christians,  is  put  beyond  all  doubt  in  the  1st 
Epistle  to  Cor.  xi.,  23d  to  26th  verses:  "For," 
says  Paul,  "I  have  received  of  the  Lord  that 
which  also  I  delivered  unto  you,  that  the  Lord 
Jesus  in  the  same  night  in  which  he  was  betrayed 
took  bread,  and  when  he  had  given  thanks  he 
brake  it,  and  said :  Take,  eat ;  this  is  my  body 
which  is  broken  for  you ;  this  do  in  remembrance 
of  me.  For  as  oft  as  ye  shall  eat  this  bread  and 
drink  this  cup  ye  do  show  forth  the  Lord's  death 
till  he  come."  But  it  is  not  necessary  to  pursue 
this  line  of  argument  further.  Very  few  believers 
in  Christ  neglect  the  Lord's  Supper  on  the  ground 
that  it  is  not  binding  upon  them  to  observe  it  ; 
but  many  do  neglect — fail  to  keep  the  feast — for 
other  reasons,  some  of  which  we  propose  to  notice 
in  urging  the  observance  of  this  sacrament.  One 
class  says,  I  do  not  keep  the  feast  because  I  feel 
so  unworthy  that  I  dare  not  approach  the  table. 
I  have  known  many  of  the  very  best  Christians  to 
stay  away  from  the  table  from  time  to  time  on  this 
account.  Because  they  feel  unworthy  they  are 
afraid  that  they  will  partake  unworthily.  Now, 
what  a  mistake  this  is!  That  is  the  very  way 
you  ought  to  feel.     That  very  feeling  is  an  evi- 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER.  211 

deuce  of  your  qualification  to  commune,  for  we 
are  taught  that  when  we  have  done  the  best  we 
can  we  are  unprofitable  servants.  If  you  pos- 
sessed the  opposite  feeling,  and,  like  the  proud 
Pharisee,  came  thanking  God  that  you  were  better 
than  other  people,  I  should  say  then  you  ought  to 
stay  away;  but  if  you  can  come,  like  the  poor 
Publican,  crying,  "God  be  merciful  to  me,  a  sin- 
ner," you  shall  go  away  profited.  Another  who 
stays  away  says,  "I  can't  commune,  because  there 
is  one  or  will  be  one  at  the  table  in  whom  I  have 
no  confidence.  I  am  confident  he  is  a  hypocrite, 
a  mean  fellow."  Many  stay  away  from  no  other 
cause.  When  and  where  did  you  receive  a  com- 
mission to  attend  to  such  cases?  If  there  should 
be  such  an  one  there  as  you  suppose,  my  word  for 
it,  Glod  will  attend  to  his  case  without  your  assist- 
ance. I  recollected,  and  so  do  you,  that  at  the 
very  time  this  feast  was  instituted  there  was  one 
that  supped  who  was  a  traitor  ;  and  when  the 
disciples  were  informed  of  it,  did  they  get  up  and 
leave  the  table — refuse  to  celebrate  with  such  an 
one?  Not  at  all  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  their 
anxious  inquiry  was,  "Lord,  is  it  I  that  am  un- 
worthy?" "Am  I  the  traitor?"  That  should  be 
your  only  inquiry.  "Am  I  unworthy?  am  I  a 
hypocrite — a  mean  fellow?"  See  that  your  heart 
is  right,  and  do  not  expect  to  be  excused  from  the 
performance  of  a  duty  because  of  the  unfaithful- 


212  SERMONS. 

ness  of  another.     Again,  there  are  others  who 
habitually  neglect  to  keep  this  feast,  and  have  no 
particular  reason  for  doing  so  than  that  their  lives 
are  such  and  the  state  of  their  heart  is  such  that 
they  feel  they  ought  not  to  commune.     We  call 
these    nominal  professors.     Now,   of  all  classes, 
they  occupy  the  most  critical,  the  most  dangerous 
ground.      They  pray  very  seldom,   rarely  ever 
read  the  Scriptures,  and  when  the  table  of  the  Lord 
is  spread,  and  the  invitation  given,  they  get  up 
and  turn  their  backs  upon  it.     When  I  see  this,  I 
think  of  the  poor  Egyptian  who  had  no  blood  on 
his  door  posts.     I  think  if  the  destroying  angel 
should  sweep  over  the  Church,  there  would  be  a 
dead  man,  a  dead  woman.     Your  case,  if  such  be 
present  to-day,  I  repeat,  is  critical.     It  will  not 
do  for  you  to  come  to  the  feast  in  your  present 
state,  because,  if  you  do,  you  eat  and  drink  un- 
worthily, and  "he  that  eateth  and  drinketh  un- 
worthily, eateth  and  drinketh  damnation  to  him- 
self."    And  it  will  not  do  for   you  to  go  away 
without  communing,   thus  insulting  God  in  the 
public  sanctuary,  by  telling  Christ,  when  he  says, 
"do  this  in  remembrance  of  me,"  openly  that  you 
will  not,  by  turning  your  back  upon  the  table, 
and  in  this  manner  heaping  up  wrath  to  yourself 
against  the  day  of  wrath.     What  then,  you  are 
ready  to  ask,  are  you  to  do?     "What  can  I  do?" 
I  would  to  God  that  this  cry  would  come  up  deep 


the  lord's  supper.  213 

from  your  hearts.  I  would  tell  you  what  to  do, 
and  it  would  be  this :  begin  now  to  pray  and  con- 
fess your  sins  ;  begin  now  to  resolve  to  lead  new 
lives  ;  call  now  upon  God  for  pardon  and  a  fit- 
ness to  commune.  Ask  God  now  for  earnest, 
honest  hearts  to  do  His  will.  If  you  come  re- 
penting and  confessing,  you  may  come  and  be 
welcome.  Let  us.  therefore,  keep  the  feast, 
all  of  us. 

We  now  come  to  speak  of  the  manner  in 
which  it  should  be  done.  First,  we  should 
partake  of  this  feast  understandingly.  We 
should  not  over-estimate  so  as  to  magnify  it 
into  an  importance  equal  to  the  victim  it  re- 
presents. The  Catholic  and  Greek  think  that 
at  the  time  the  priest  consecrates  the  elements, 
the  bread  and  wine  are  changed  into  the  iden- 
tical body  and  blood  of  Christ.  A  short  argu- 
ment here  to  show  its  fallacy.  To  state  this  to 
an  intelligent  audience  is  a  sufficient  refutation. 
Others  go  to  the  other  extreme,  and  under-esti- 
mate  it ;  think  that  it  is  nothing  more  than  mere 
bread  and  wine,  attach  no  importance  to  the  con- 
secration. Christ  says  :  "  Lo  !  I  am  with  you." 
He  is  present,  not  in  his  flesh  and  blood,  yet  he 
is  present  and  his  presence  gives  importance  and 
merit  to  the  wine  and  bread.  He  is  present  in 
divinity,  and  his  presence  sanctifies  it,  makes  it  a 
means  of  grace  as  well  as  a  commemorative  rite. 


214  SERMONS. 

Having  correct  views  we  should  keep  it  in  a 
proper  manner.  "  Not  with  old  leaven,  nor  the 
leaven  of  malice  and  wickedness."  Leaven  stands 
for  sin  here  ;  not  with  sin,  with  the  sin  of  malice 
or  wickedness,  but  with  sincerity  and  truth.  If 
a  man  comes  with  an  honest  heart,  honest  pur- 
poses and  desires,  he  will  always  keep  the  feast 
in  a  proper  manner. 

In  conclusion,  we  notice  the  effects  result- 
ing from  keeping  this  feast  in  a  proper  man- 
ner. First,  it  begets  and  strengthens  our  love. 
When  we  remember  the  amazing  love  which 
prompted  G-od  to  give  His  Son  to  die  for  us  ; 
when  our  minds,  taking  the  direction  which  the 
bread  and  wine  give,  run  back  upon  the  suf- 
ferings of  the  Saviour  ;  when  we  see  Him  in  the 
garden,  lying  upon  the  cold  ground  with  His  locks 
all  wet  with  the  dew  of  night ;  read  an  account  of 
His  deep  agony  for  us,  we  see  great  drops  of 
bloody  sweat  issuing  from  the  pores,  and  hear  His 
plaintive  cry,  "Father,  if  it  be  possible  let  this 
cup  pass,"  the  cup  of  our  woe,  the  cup  of  our  sin, 
"if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  ;  but  not  my 
will,  thine  be  done."  When  we  remember  the 
throes  of  His  bosom,  and  the  intensity  of  His  suf- 
fering as  He  hung  upon  the  Cross,  with  His  flesh 
all  twitching  and  smarting,  when  we  remember 
the  putting  forth  of  His  mighty  power,  the  extent 
of  His  almighty  energy  in  bearing  the  curse  for 


the  lord's  supper.  215 

us  ;  power  and  energy  in  endurance  of  suffering 
and  pain  which  shook  the  earth  to  its  centre, 
split  the  rocks,  shook  the  dead  out  of  their  death 
slumbers  and  beds  of  dust,  sent  a  deep  gloom 
through  the  heavens,  which  eclipsed  the  sun,  and 
amidst  it  all,  as  hell  and  earth  combined  to  do 
their  worst  upon  him,  taunted  and  mocked,  hear 
Him  as  amidst  it  all  He  turns  His  eyes  to  heaven, 
and  from  His  bleeding,  breaking  heart  He  cries  : 
"Father,  forgive!7'  Oh!  who  can  hear  and  not 
love  such  a  Saviour  ?  Who  can  take  these  em- 
blems and  not  in  the  depth  of  his  innermost  soul 
love  ?  Why,  some  seem  to  think  it  is  a  diffi- 
cult thing,  to  love  the  Saviour,  to  love  God.  I 
declare  it  is  astonishing  that  we  can  keep  from 
it.  How  soon  does  our  neighbor  win  our  esteem 
by  kind  offices,  and  when  he  rescues  us  from  de- 
struction by  pulling  us  drowning  from  the  stream, 
or  bears  us  in  his  arms  from  our  dwelling  wrapped 
in  flames,  he  is  held  in  perpetual  love  and  remem- 
brance. He  that  would  come  to  our  dungeon  and 
put  our  chains  on  his  own  wrists  and  ankles,  who 
would  mount  the  scaffold  by  our  side  and  offer  his 
own  neck  for  the  halter,  bidding  us  go  free,  go  to 
our  family,  and  home,  and  friends,  would  receive 
from  us  a  consecration  of  ourselves  to  him  and 
his  interests,  and  a  devotion  bounded  only  by 
the  extent  of  our  capacity.  Such  a  friend  is  the 
Saviour  ;  his   hands  were  offered,   his   side  was 


216  SERMONS. 

presented,  his  life  given  up,  not  that  we  might  be 
saved  from  a  comji  and  winding  sheet,  the  worm 
of  the  grave,  but  saved  from  hell — "  where  the 
worm  dieth  not  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched." 
Yerily,  we  do  remember  all  these  things  on 
an  occasion  like  this,  and  our  love  is  increased. 

Again,  an  effect  produced  by  the  observance  of 
this  feast  is,  that  it  teaches  us  to  keep  always,  and 
perpetuate,  the  great  doctrine  of  salvation  by  the 
death  of  Christ ;  for  whenever  the  table  of  the 
Lord  is  spread,  Christ's  death  is  published  and 
sealed  upon  the  hearts  of  those  who  witness  it 
with  extraordinary  spiritual  power.  And  what- 
ever tends  to  this  should  be  sacredly  observed  ; 
for  let  this  great  doctrine  be  kept  alive — kept  in 
view,  and  though  all  things  else  be  forgotten, 
though  the  most  splendid  productions  of  genius 
should  perish,  and  monuments  reared  to  human 
greatness  razed  to  the  ground — though  all  the  ten 
thousand  memories  of  the  past  that  cluster  around 
the  mind  like  ministering  messengers  of  solace 
should  fade  and  depart ;  though  all  science  should 
be  uprooted  and  exploded ;  though  civil,  and 
domestic,  and  pecuniary  pestilence  should  sweep 
over  the  earth,  and  leave  not  a  vestige  of  human 
pride — if  the  Cross  stood  erect,  untouched  ;  if  the 
blood  of  Christ  lost  not  its  efficacy,  and  if  it  were 
remembered  amidst  it  all,  man  could  be  happy  in 
the  hope  of  Heaven,  and  as  he  should  walk  this 


the  lord's  supper.  217 

wide  and  trackless  waste  he  could  sing  the  pil- 
grims' song,  and  bend  his  steps  forward  toward  the 
pilgrims'  rest.  By  communing  —  keeping  this 
feast,  we  keep  it  alive,  perpetuate  it.  When  that 
father  leaves  his  little  boy  at  his  seat,  and  comes 
here  to  partake  of  these  emblems,  a  deep  impres- 
sion is  made  upon  that  little  fellow's  mind  as  to 
the  importance  of  this  thing,  by  the  trickling  tear 
and  heaving  bosom  of  his  father.  That  mother 
asked  by  her  little  daughter  why  is  this,  why  take 
the  bread  ?  And  when  told  that  it  is  to  remem- 
ber Jesus  by,  it  is  thus  written  upon  the  child's 
heart,  and  the  memory  of  Christ  lives  on  from  age 
to  age. 

It  keeps  alive,  bright  and  brilliant,  our  antici- 
pations of  Heaven.  As  the  Jewish  Passover  was 
changed  into  this,  so  this  shall  be  changed  into  a 
higher  feast,  and  Christ  Himself,  in  all  His  glory, 
shall  serve  us.  Then  let  us  come  to-day  around 
the  table,  remembering  our  Saviour  ;  let  us  come, 
repenting  our  sins,  and  consecrating  ourselves 
afresh  to  the  service  of  God. 

"Millions  of  souls,  in  glory  now 
Were  fed  and  feasted  here, 
And  millions  more,  still  on  the  way, 
Around  the  board  appear. 

"  All  things  are  ready  ;  come  away, 
Nor  weak  excuses  frame ; 
Crowd  to  your  places  at  the  feast, 
And  bless  the  Founder's  name." 


218  SERMONS. 


®fc#  $t  fxxitml  Wwim. 

(FUNERAL  SERMON  OP  COL.  SAMUEL  H.  BOYD,  45TH  REGI- 
MENT, N.  0.  TROOPS,  PREACHED  AT  WENTWORTH,  N.  C, 
JULY  31  ST,    1864.— Eds.) 

"  For  the  weapons  of  our  warfare  are  not  carnal." — 2  Cor.,  x,  4. 

"For  by  faith  ye  stand.'" — 2  Cor.,  i.  24. 


After  that  God  had  brought  order  out  of  chaos, 
had  lifted  the  mist  from  creation,  had  set  the  sun 
in  the  heavens,  the  moon  and  the  stars,  had 
brought  out  of  the  earth  plants  and  trees,  had 
created  the  animal  race,  He  made  man  in  His 
own  image  ;  of  course  in  His  spiritual  image,  for 
God  has  no  bodily  shape  ;  He  set  him  over  the 
works  of  His  hands.  His  spirit  was  and  is  like 
God.  It  thinks,  perceives,  wills,  judges,  remem- 
bers, and  appreciates  justice,  truth,  mercy,  purity, 
the  beautiful,  the  grand  and  the  sublime.  As 
such,  He  gave  him  the  power  of  choice  between 
good  and  evil,  and  held  and  still  holds  him  respon- 
sible for  his  conduct.  He  made  a  good  and  beau- 
tiful world,  and  placed  man  in  it.  For  the  effect 
of  his  disobedience,  which  He  foresaw,  He  provi- 
ded a  remedy.  It  was  not  an  after-thought  with 
God.  The  plan  for  his  rescue,  and  the  rescue  of 
his  race,  was  all  provided  and  arranged  beforehand. 
It  is  a  grand  scheme,  not  constructed  to  meet  the 
wants  of  one  man  only,  and  for  a  particular  age 


THE  SPIRITUAL  WARFARE.  219 

and  a  certain  locality,  but  to  meet  the  wants  of  an 
entire   race,  and  every  age,  and  for  the   whole 
globe.     The  system  was  gradually  unfolded.    The 
light  of  it  fell  faintly  upon  the  minds  of  the  first 
pair,  in  the  first  ray  that  by  anticipation  gleamed 
from  the  Cross.     Their  first  born    realized  some- 
thing  of  its   light   as    they   erected   altars   and 
brought  forward  their  gifts.     As  time  rolled  on  it 
was  unfolded  hy  the  sacrificial  worship,  in  types 
and  shadows,  and  symbols.     The  Prophets,  point- 
ing the  tube  which  God  put  to  the  eye,  through 
the   shadowy   vista    of    coming    events,    caught 
glimpses  of  its  grand  developments.     Then  in  the 
fullness  of  time,  the  Sun  of  Righteousness,  full- 
orbed,  radiant  with  the  hope  of  the  world,   rose 
upon  the  Cross.     The  grand  pivot  upon  which  the 
whole  scheme  turns  is  faith.     The  Sacraments  of 
Baptism,   and  the   Lord's   Supper ;  the   Apostle- 
ship,  the  means  of  grace,  prayer,  fasting,  repent- 
ance, pardon,  praise,  motives  drawn  from  Heaven 
and  hell,  all  rest  upon  faith.     Without  faith,  take 
it  away,  strike  it  from  the  system,  and  the  whole 
plan,  embracing  the  patriarchs,  the  prophets,  the 
priests,  the  apostles,  the  teachers,  pupils  and  sub- 
jects, would  be  as  a  huge  piece  of  machinery  with 
no  motive  power,  a  vast  ship  with  compact  bulk, 
powerful  engine,  boiler  and  smoke  stack,  wheels 
and  paddles,   with  no  steam.     Faith  is  its  motive 
power.     Faith  is  the  spark  which,  struck,  sends 


220  SERMONS. 

life,  vitality  and  vigor  through  the  whole  and  all 
its  parts,  so  to  speak,  through  all  its  nerves,  and 
sinews,  and  muscles,  and  members,  and  means  and 
agencies.  "  Through  faith,  we  understand  that 
the  worlds  were  framed  by  the  word  of  God. 
By  faith,  Abel  offered  unto  God  a  more  excellent 
sacrifice  than  Cain.  By  faith,  Enoch  was  transla- 
ted. By  faith,  Abraham  when  he  was  tried,  offered 
up  Isaac.  By  faith,  Moses,  when  he  was  come  to 
years,  refused  to  be  called  the  son  of  Pharaoh's 
daughter.  By  faith,  the  walls  of  Jericho  fell 
down  after  they  were  compassed  about  seven  days. 
And  what  shall  I  say  more  ?  For  the  time  would 
fail  me  to  tell  of  Gideon,  and  of  Barak,  and  of 
Samson,  and  of  Jephtha  ;  of  David  also,  and 
Samuel,  and  of  the  Prophets ;  who  through  faith 
subdued  kingdoms,  wrought  righteousness,  ob- 
tained promises,  stopped  the  mouths  of  lions, 
quenched  the  violence  of  fire,  escaped  the  edge 
of  the  sword,  out  of  weakness  were  made  strong, 
waxed  valiant  in  fight,  turned  to  flight  the  armies 
of  the  Aliens."     Heb.  xi. 

By  faith  every  man  repents — is  justified.  By 
faith  he  fights  and  conquers  all  his  spiritual 
foes.  To  this  view  of  the  subject  you  are  in- 
vited this  morning.  This  feature  of  the  subject 
constitutes  the  theme  for  the  hour's  meditation. 
What  is  faith  ?  An  assent  of  the  mind  to  the 
truth  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  an  embrace  of 


THE  SPIRITUAL  WARFARE.  221 

it  with  the  affections.  We  speak  of  the  mind, 
the  soul,  the  spirit,  the  heart.  We  speak  of  the 
intellect  as  located  in  the  brain  ;  of  the  affections 
as  seated  in  the  heart.  These  terms  are  used  only 
for  classification.  I  know  but  two  elements 
composing  human  nature — body  and  spirit. 
The  former  is  material  and  perishes,  the  latter 
is  immaterial  and  indestructible.  The  Scrip- 
tures, I  know,  speak  also  of  soul,  mind  and  spirit, 
but  is  in  the  same  sense  as  explained.  Now  the 
evidences  supporting  the  truth  of  the  Christian 
religion  address  the  intellect,  and,  when  pre- 
sented, the  mind  weighs  the  proofs,  and,  by  a  law 
of  its  nature,  concludes  upon  the  truth  of  the 
system.  This  a  man  can  no  more  prevent 
than  when  he  puts  two  and  two  together  in  his 
mind  he  can  prevent  the  conclusion,  four  being 
the  result.  This  is  mental  conviction,  or  assent, 
or  faith.  The  evidences  of  God's  love  in  the 
death  of  His  Son,  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
His  long  suffering  and  forbearance,  and  crowning 
our  lives  with  ten  thousand  blessings,  address  the 
heart,  the  emotional  nature,  and  excite  in  us  a 
reciprocal  affection.  We  love  God  because  He 
first  loves  us.  By  a  law  of  our  nature  acts  of 
kindness  excite  in  us  tenderness,  regard  and  es- 
teem. This  assent  of  the  mind,  and  admiration 
or  esteem  of  the  affections,  accompanied  with 
ceasing    to    do    evil,  and  learning  to  do   well,  is 


222  SERMONS. 

taken  for  faith.  But  there  are  distempers  of  the 
mind  and  affections,  appetites  of  the  heart,  that 
have  never  been  destroyed.  These  are  not  sub- 
ject to  the  law  of  God,  nor  can  they  be — they  are 
at  enmity  against  God.  All  these  must  be  cruci- 
fied and  the  man  must  be  born  of  the  Spirit.  The 
spirit  of  Christ,  like  a  refining  fire,  must  consume 
them,  and  the  spirit  of  the  man  comes  out  of  this 
process  corrected,  purified,  a  new  creature  in 
Christ  Jesus  ;  old  things  pass  away  and  all  things 
are  new.  Now  all  the  part  a  man  performs  in 
this  is  the  exercise  of  the  -power  God  gives  to 
all,  to  use  the  means,  to  confess  his  sins,  resolve 
to  forsake  them,  pray,  read  God's  word,  look  up 
to  Him,  ask  for  forgiveness,  for  a  new  life,  and  the 
laws  in  the  spiritual  world  will  work  out  these 
results  as  surely  as  the  operation  of  laws  in  the 
natural  world  produce  their  results.  Many  of  us 
have  an  idea  that  something  extraordinary  must 
be  done  by  the  individual  seeking  this  faith. 
We  get  him  to  this  point  and  set  on  him  with  ex- 
hortations to  cast  himself  upon  Christ,  to  venture 
upon  Him,  the  very  thing  he  cannot  do.  But  sup- 
pose he  holds  himself  to  this,  asks  pardon,  con- 
fesses, resolves  to  sin  no  more,  holds  himself  to 
that,  and  no  more  and  no  less,  God  will  do  the 
balance  ;  the  result  will  take  place.  Just  as  if 
you  take  flax  and  a  glass  and  concentrate  the  rays  of 
the  sun  in  a  focus  upon  it.     Hold  the  concentrated 


THE  SPIRITUAL  WARFARE.  223 

rajs  steadily  upon  the  flax,  and  by  the  inevitable 
results  of  the  laws  of  nature  the  flax  will  take 
fire.  Just  so  when  the  sinner  holds  himself  in 
this  position  ;  the  electric  spark  will  fall  from 
heaven  upon  his  spirit ;  that  faith  which  gives  him 
connection  with  Christ,  whereby  the  life  of  Christ 
is  imparted  unto  him,  will  be  given.  Christ's  life 
becomes  his  life.  The  Apostle  says,  "  the  life 
which  I  now  live  in  the  flesh,  I  live  by  the  faith 
of  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me  and  gave  Him- 
self for  me."  Christ's  strength  becomes  his 
strength.  "I  can  do  all  things  through  Christ, 
which  strengtheneth  me."  Christ's  wisdom  and 
righteousness  become  his  wisdom  and  righteous- 
ness. By  faith,  which  thus  unites  us  to  Christ, 
we  stand,  we  conquer. 

I  proceed  in  the  next  step  to  consider  the  en- 
emies we  have  to  fight,  I  am  to-day  preaching 
the  funeral  of  a  soldier,  and  such  is  the  analogy 
between  his  and  the  Christian's  career  that  I  would, 
as  the  Apostle  has  done,  take  his  life,  his  con- 
flicts, his  perils,  his  triumphs,  as  symbols  of  the 
life,  conflicts,  perils  and  triumphs  of  the  spir- 
itual warrior.  I  would  take  his  word  as  the 
type  of  the  sword  of  the  spirit,  the  word  of 
God,  which  he  wields  by  faith,  which  pierces  even 
to  the  dividing  asunder.  I  would  take  his 
breastwork  as  emblematic  of  the  breastplate  of 
righteousness,  which  he  wears  by  faith,  and  his 


224  SERMONS. 

laurels  as  symbolic  of  the  crown  which  the  con- 
queror, through  Christ,  will  ultimately  wear. 
But  who  are  his  enemies  ?  Who  are  they  ? 
The  Devil  is  at  the  head  of  all  the  forces 
that  oppose  him.  That  there  is  a  devil  we 
are  clearly  taught  both  in  the  Scriptures 
and  by  our  experience.  He  goes  about  as 
a  roaring  lion — a  lion  whose  palate  is  thirsty 
for  blood,  whose  eye  burns  in  watching  for 
a  victim.  His  origin  we  know  not,  except 
that  he  was  hurled  over  the  battlements  for  rais- 
ing a  rebellion  in  the  realms  of  light.  He  does 
not  possess  omnipotence,  but  certainly  possesses 
great  power.  He  is  prince  of  the  power  of  the 
air.  and  his  power  in  the  earth,  though  not  defi- 
nitely to  be  determined,  yet  we  know  that  it  is 
very  great.  He  does  not  possess  omniscience, 
and  Dr.  Clarke  says  he  deserves  no  great  reputa- 
tion for  wisdom,  but,  be  that  as  it  may,  whether 
he  knows  how  to  choose  the  best  end  or  not, 
when  he  does  choose  he  certainly  has  the  greatest 
skill  in  adapting  the  means  to  its  accomplishment  ; 
and  whatever  else  he  is  ignorant  of,  he  certainly 
understands  the  human  heart  well,  and,  espe- 
cially, all  its  weak  points.  He  has  not  omnipres- 
ence, but  is  everywhere  represented  by  a  faithful 
proxy.  He  is  at  the  head  of  the  principalities, 
and  powers,  and  spiritual  wickedness  in  high 
places.     He   has    regiments,    and  brigades,   and 


THE  SPIRITUAL  WARFARE.  225 

divisions,  and  corps  of  devils  and  evil  spirits  who 
go  under  his  orders  in  solid  column  or  on  picket, 
as  scouts,  as  spies,  and  as  raiders.  There  were 
legions  of  them  in  the  time  of  Christ,  and  no  ac- 
count that  any  have  ever  died.  I  never  yet 
have  heard  of  devils  dying.  The  Devil  has  ban- 
ners, too.  When  he  wheels  his  columns  on  the 
weak  and  demoralized,  and  the  faint-hearted,  he 
hoists  a  black  flag — gives  no  quarter.  When  he 
would  entice,  he  lifts  up  a  banner  of  beautiful, 
variegated  colors.  When  he  would  beguile  he 
unfnrls  a  white  flag,  comes  clothed  as  an  angel  of 
light.  We  have  no  account  that  he  ever  sleeps 
or  tires.  In  addition  to  all  this  he  seems  to  have 
some  sort  of  control  over  the  pleasures,  and  hon- 
ors, and  riches  of  this  world.  When  tempting 
the  Saviour  on  the  Mount,  you  remember,  he  told 
Him  he  would  give  all  these  things  to  Him  if  He 
would  fall  down  and  worship  him,  and  Christ  did 
not  dispute  his  power  to  do  it.  He  does  confer 
wealth  upon  his  votaries.  They  have  more  than 
heart  can  wish,  their  eyes  stand  out  with  fatness. 
He  uses  all  this  as  bribes.  Then,  in  addition 
still,  he  has  friends  and  sympathizers,  aiders 
and  abettors,  in  the  man's  own  bosom,  in  his  ap- 
petites, and  lusts,  and  principles.  These  par- 
ties, if  I  may  so  call  the  passions  and  appe- 
tites, act  in  concert  with  him,  communicate  with 
him,  are  all  the  time  advocating  a  compromise, 

11 


226  SERMONS. 

want  to  come  to  terms,  say  it  is  no  use  to  fight, 
for  man  will  be  whipped  any  way  in  the  end,  run 
oyer,  subjugated,  and  possibly  annihilated.  And 
they  go  even  further  than  that,  they  desire  and 
express  that  it  is  better  to  be  under  the  Devil's 
government ;  do  not  want  the  man,  Christ  Jesus, 
to  reign  over  them,  so  that  while  the  fight  is  rag- 
iug  without,  a  perfect  stoim  of  civil  strife  is  rag- 
ing within.  These  are  the  hosts  marshalled 
against  him.  This  is  the  character  of  his  ene- 
mies. A  shrewd,  strategic,  artful,  cunning  Devil, 
with  vast  powers,  almost  omnipotent,  all  the 
world  opened  to  him,  vast  resources,  and  all  the 
world  sympathizing  with  him.  Now,  if  the  in- 
domitable heroes  of  the  South — and  I  make  this 
political  allusion  and  preach  this  kind  of  sermon 
to-day  as  fit  and  appropriate  as  a  funeral  sermon 
of  a  Southern  soldier,  who  sleeps  quietly  behind 
me  in  a  soldier's  grave— if,  I  say,  the  indomitable 
heroes  of  the  South,  appealing  to  God  for  the  rec- 
titude of  their  cause,  with  all  the  odds  against 
them,  against  enemies  abroad  and  enemies  at 
home,  present  to  us  an  object  of  admiration,  as, 
through  cold,  and  wet,  and  hunger,  and  want, 
they  stand  in  their  ranks,  and  follow  their  flag  ; 
if  we  watch  them  as  breathless  they  are  lost  in 
the  smoke  of  battle,  and  stand  ready  when  they 
emerge  to  crown  them  with  laurels  and  drown 
them  with  huzzas,  and,  if  they  fall,  gather  them 


THE  SPIRITUAL  WARFARE.  227 

in  our  arms  and  lay  them  down  in  some  sacred 
spot,  where  we  can  erect  the  marble  and  train 
the  beautiful  flowers,  and  perpetuate  their  mem- 
ory, and  if  they  triumph,  vote  them  swords,  and 
put  them  in  places  of  power,  and  make  triumphal 
arches  and  crown  them  with  laurels  ;  I  say,  if  this 
scene  is  so  much  to  be  admired  and  rewarded, 
the  spectacle  which  the  spiritual  warrior  presents 
rises  in  sublimity  far  above  it.  With  calm,  clear 
eye  he  surveys  the  serried  ranks  of  the  contending 
hosts,  and  lifts  up  his  standard  of  resistance. 
His  sign  is  the  Cross,  his  flag  a  banner  stained 
with  blood,  his  battle  cry  is  life  !  Eternal  life  ! 
The  great  Captain  of  his  salvation  issues  the  or- 
ders ;  here  they  are  in  God's  great  book  of  mili- 
tary tactics — the  Bible.  The  angels  sent  forth  to 
minister  unto  him,  an  heir  of  salvation,  gather 
about  him  in  solid  column.  The  campaign  opens 
around  Mt.  Calvary.  The  trench  in  which  he  lies 
is  the  cleft  side  of  his  commander-in-chief.  He 
fights  chiefly  upon  his  knees,  and  tying  down  flat 
in  the  dust  of  humility.  He  fights  not  in  his  own 
strength,  he  is  not  sufficient,  even  to  think  aright, 
but  through  Christ  strengthening  him  he  con- 
quers. There  is  not  much  noise.  There  is  more 
noise  of  Jews  and  persecutors,  and  casting  his 
name  out  as  evil,  than  any  other  kind.  His  walk 
is  in  the  vale  of  humiliation.  As  he  receives 
Christ  by  faith,   so   he   walks.     The   contest   is 


228  SERMONS. 

waged  over  every  inch  of  ground,  in  the  dis- 
charge of  all  his  personal  duties  —  duties  to 
his  family,  to  his  neighbor,  to  his  country,  and 
to  the  Church ;  everywhere,  and  at  all  times, 
the  war  rages  with  fury.  We  lose  sight  of  him 
in  the  smoke  of  the  battle.  Now  the  hour  for  his 
triumph  approaches  ;  having  done  all,  he  stands — 
by  faith  he  stands.  His  foes  are  scattered  like 
chaff  before  the  wind  ;  the  devil,  foiled,  defeated, 
cowering  behind  him  ;  his  legions  retreated  to 
their  infernal  den  ;  the  world,  with  its  power  to 
charm  and  please  by  its  glitter  and  splendor,  has 
faded  ;  fame  and  honor  bow  their  heads  with 
withered  laurels  ;  avarice  lies  behind  him  in  his 
track,  choked  and  suffocated  ;  pride  is  stretched 
out  and  covered  with  dust ;  malice  bleeds,  pierced 
with  a  dart ;  envy  turns  a  glazed  eye  to  the  light 
of  heaven  ;  love  of  the  world  and  its  pleasures 
lies  bleeding  at  every  pore.  View  him,  after 
thirty,  or  forty,  or  fifty  struggles,  in  the  splen- 
dors of  his  victory.  He  has  had  many  tears. 
Many  a  time  when  the  practice  which  was  per- 
mitted on  Job  was  applied  to  him — when  his 
hearthstone  was  left  desolate,  when  his  tender 
babes  faded  and  dropped  on  his  bosom,  when  his 
property  was  swept  away,  and  his  good  name 
cast  out  as  evil — has  he  sat  clown  and  covered 
his  face  in  sorrow  ;  many  a  time  has  he  wished 
the  conflict  ended — the  cruel  war  over  ;  many  a 


THE  SPIRITUAL  WARFARE.  229 

time  has  he  longed  for  that  rest  that  remaineth 
to  the  people  of  God.  But  on  the  bosom  of  the 
dark  clouds  that  perturbed  his  mind  and  hung 
about  his  path  he  has  never  failed,  though  faintly 
at  times,  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  bow  spanning 
their  folds,  which  was  ever  to  him  the  evidence 
of  things  not  seen.  Above  the  noise,  and  din, 
and  roar  of  the  conflict — the  smoke,  and  dust,  and 
sweat  of  the  light — the  faintness  and  weariness 
of  mind — the  voice  of  his  Commander  was  always 
heard,  beckoning  him  on  to  the  prize,  "  be  faith- 
ful until  death,  and  then  the  crown."  His  faith 
at  times  has  wavered  ;  he  has  doubted.  Like 
Bunyan's  pilgrims  on  the  summits  of  the  delect- 
able mountains,  when  they  arrived  in  sight  of  the 
celestial  city,  they  turned  the  perspective-glass 
upon  it,  and  their  minds  were  so  affected  by  the 
terrible  vision  they  had  that  their  hands  shook 
so  they  could  not  look  steadily  through  the  in- 
strument ;  but  they  thought  they  saw  something 
like  the  gate  and  some  of  the  glory  of  the  place. 
Such  has  been  his  mood  at  times  in  attempting  to 
gaze  in  the  same  direction  ;  a  deep  haze  seems  to 
have  settled  over  the  golden  pinnacles  and  gates 
of  pearl  ;  for  a  moment  he  doubted  whether  what 
others  had  declared  the}T  had  seen,  and  what  he 
thought  he  had  seen  himself,  was  anything  more 
than  a  gorgeous  vision  in  the  clouds,  and  faith 
was  no  longer  "  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for 


230  SERMONS. 

and  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen."  But  it  is 
all  over  now.  His  triumph  is  complete  ;  he  re- 
tires from  the  field,  and  he  goes  home  to  receive 
his  reward.  If  the  splendor  of  his  triumph  ex- 
ceeds that  of  the  soldier,  the  magnificence  of  the 
reward  and  the  fruit  of  his  victory  rise  corres- 
pondingly higher.  G-od  honors  him.  The  same 
voice  that  spoke  the  worlds  from  naught,  com- 
manded, and  it  stood  fast ;  that  brought  out  the 
morning  stars  and  sons  of  God  in  grand  concert 
over  the  splendors  of  the  new  creation,  will  pro- 
nounce the  plaudit,  "Well  done,  good  and  faith- 
ful servant.7'"  The  omnipotent  hand  that  stretched 
out  the  heavens  like  a  curtain  ;  that  makes  the 
clouds  his  chariots,  and  walks  upon  the  wings  of 
the  wind  ;  that  flung  the  sun  from  His  fingers, 
and  sent  it  blazing  and  sparkling  through  the 
heavens,  flooding  the  world  with  light  and  heat ; 
that  laid  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth  the  shining 
metals — the  diamond  and  the  amethyst  ;  that 
paved  the  paths  of  his  own  feet  in  the  sea  with 
pearls — that  same  hand  is  to  construct  the  crown 
that  is  to  be  placed  upon  his  head.  That  taste, 
infinite  in  its  perfection,  that  painted  the  rose, 
and  put  the  delicate  tints  upon  the  violet  and 
lily,  that  garnished  the  heavens  and  robed  the 
landscape,  is  to  weave  the  chaplet  that  binds  his 
brow.  The  infinite  musical  talent  that  taught 
the  morning  stars  their  songs,   and  the  sons  of 


FOLLOWING  THE  MULTITUDE.  231 

G-od  their  shouts  ;  that  has  seat  a  vein  of  music 
through  all  nature  ;  that  has  taught  the  birds 
their  morning  carols  and  vesper  hymns,  is  to 
compose  the  triumphal  ode  for  his  coronation. 


J  ottwwg  t\w  puttttmle. 

(WRITTEN  DURING  THE  LATE  WAR.— Eds.) 
Thou  shalt  not  follow  a  multitude  to  do  evil." — Exodus,  xxiii,  2. 


There  are  two  things  assumed  in  the  text. 
First,  that  the  multitude,  the  vast  majority  of 
mankind,  do  evil ;  second,  that  we  are  inclined  to 
follow  them  to  do  evil.  It  is  a  part  of  the  busi- 
ness of  the  preacher  set  apart  by  the  Holy  Spirit 
for  the  office  of  the  ministry,  to  prove  some  things 
which  are  assumed  by  inspiration.  There  is  not, 
however,  very  great  need  of  proof  of  these  assump- 
tions, particularly  the  first.  I  shall  not  undertake 
therefore  to  offer  much  testimony  in  their  support. 
Look  around  you  for  the  evidence  of  the  truth  of 
the  first,  that  the  multitude  do  evil.  Where  is 
the  multitude  to-day  ?  In  what  direction  are 
they  walking  ?  What  engages  them  ?  What  wick- 
edness, profanity,  drunkenness,  Sabbath-breaking, 
lying,  cheating,  stealing,  money-worshipping,  for- 
getting of  Grod,  indifference  to  the  obligations 
they  are  under  to  Him,  disregard  of  His  com- 


232  SERMONS. 

mauds!  Where  is  the  multitude,  and  how  many 
are  doing  good?  How  many  are  concerned  and 
careful  to  train  their  families  for  God  ?  How 
many  are  engaged  in  acts  of  systematic  benev- 
olence and  charity?  How  many  are  concerned 
for  the  spread  of  the  Gospel,  the  conversion  of  the 
world,  the  institutions  of  the  Church?  How  many 
are  interested  in  the  Sabbath  school?  In  all  these 
things  the  multitude  feel  not  much  interest.  They 
leave  them  to  the  few  who  have  not  as  yet  bowed 
the  knee  to  Baal ;  but  as  for  themselves  they  are 
making  haste  to  do  evil ;  with  a  zeal  worthy  of  a 
holy  cause  they  are  striving  to  do  that  which  God 
and  experience  pronounce  evil.  It  is  of  no  use  to 
refer  to  the  past  for  proof  of  this  assumption — to 
the  inhabitants  before  the  flood,  to  Sodom  and  Go- 
morrah, the  races  of  the  past  generations,  nor  to 
other  lands  or  isles ;  here  in  our  own  land  we 
have  the  saddest  proof.  Wickedness,  evil,  walks 
abroad  at  noonday,  and  with  unblushing  face  her 
worshippers  gather  around  her  in  adoring  homage; 
so  that  by  opening  our  ej^es  and  looking  around 
us  we  have  full  proof  of  the  first  assumption.  It 
is  a  sad  fact  that  the  greater  part  of  mankind  are 
so  lost  to  all  gratitude  and  affection  that  they  are 
not  only  doing  the  evil  presented,  but  are  in 
search  of  more  evil  to  do.  It  is  no  wonder  that 
we  are  afflicted  as  a  people  with  war  and  want ;  it 
is  no  wonder  that  in  answer  to  the  sins  which  cry 


FOLLOWING  THE  MULTITUDE.  233 

to  heaven,  God  is  now  answering  back  with  fire, 
and  sword,  and  shell,  and  the  breath  of  pestilence. 
It  is  very  plain  that  a  large  majority  of  our  people 
are  forgetting  God.  Instead  of  assembling  around 
the  altars  of  God,  uniting  their  prayers  and  efforts 
to  push  forward  the  conquests  of  the  Eedeemer, 
they  are  carried  away  with  greed  for  gain  and  are 
going  in  a  multitude  to  do  evil. 

Notwithstanding  it  is  contrary  to  reason  that 
any  man  should  prefer  error  to  truth,  and  wrong 
to  right,  and  evil  to  good,  yet  the  second  assump- 
tion in  the  text  is  also  true,  that  we  are  inclined 
to  go  with  the  multitude  to  commit  all  this  abom- 
inable wickedness.  The  proof  I  offer  in  support 
of  this  assumption  is  as  follows : 

First,  if  we  have  the  carnal  mind  in  us,  or  the 
remains  of  it,  we  have  the  same  principle  in  us 
which  prompts  the  multitude  to  do  evil.  "The 
carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God ;  is  not  subject 
to  the  law  of  God;  neither,  indeed,  can  it  be."  It 
loves  evil,  sin,  wickedness;  is  as  prone  to  it  as  the 
sparks  to  fly  upward.  It  drinketh  it  in  as  the  ox 
doth  water.  It  has  a  distaste  for  whatever  is  good 
— right  in  the  sight  of  God. 

Secondly,  we  are  inclined  to  go  with  the  mul- 
titude to  do  evil,  because  we  value  their  good 
opinion,  and  desire  very  much  to  have  the  appro- 
bation of  the  multitude.  Most  persons  have  very 
few  passions  stronger  than  this:  the  love  of  human 

11* 


234  SERMONS. 

applause,  human  approbation.  Very  few  persons 
can  brook  public  disapprobation.  The  meanest 
man  in  all  the  community  becomes  perfectly  mis- 
erable if  he  is  greeted  with  a  frown  upon  the  face 
of  every  one  he  meets.  Having  a  disposition  to 
do  evil,  and  by  so  doing  we  lose  nothing  of  the 
respect  of  the  multitude,  but  rather  stand  in  better 
credit  with  them,  we  are  not  only  inclined  to  do 
evil,  but  it  is  the  hardest,  most  difficult  thing,  to 
go  with  the  few  and  do  good.  I  see  here  a  rea- 
son why  Grod  pities  a  poor,  miserable  sinner. 
With  an  evil  nature,  and  his  fellows  around  him 
doing  evil,  and  talking  evil,  and  popularizing  it,  a 
tide  of  influence  flows  around  him  that  is  well  cal- 
culated to  bear  him  away,  a  current  sets  in  upon 
him  as  resistless  almost  as  the  mountain  torrent,  a' 
charm  as  fascinating  as  that  kindled  by  the  eye  of 
the  serpent  upon  the  brain  and  heart  of  the  help- 
less bird,  fastens  upon  his  soul;  and  if  he  does  not 
lift  up  his  hands  in  the  midst  of  the  current  and 
cry  for  help,  if  he  does  not  take  his  eye  off  the 
accursed  thing,  and  fix  it  upon  the  Cross,  soon 
with  rapid  strides  his  feet  are  with  the  many  in 
the  broad  road  that  leads  to  hell. 

Thirdly,  we  are  inclined  to  go  with  the  multi- 
tude to  evil,  because  it  appears  to  be  the  way  of 
most  profit  to  us.  To  serve  mammon — to  buy,  and 
sell,  and  get  gain — to  increase  in  riches,  and  honor, 
and  fame — to  be  in  a  position  to  say  "soul,  thou 


FOLLOWING  THE  MULTITUDE.  235 

hast  much  goods  laid  up  for  many  years,  take 
thine  ease,  eat,  drink,  and  be  merry"- — to  have 
houses,  and  lands,  and  barns,  and  cattle,  and 
halls,  and  bowers,  and  parks,  and  lawns — seems 
to  be  better,  more  certain,  than  laying  up  treasure 
where  moth  and  rust  do  not  corrupt.  The  one 
appears  tangible,  the  other  is  a  matter  of  faith 
without  sight ;  the  one  is  present,  the  other  pros- 
pective. And  it  appears  to  be  to  our  interest  to 
go  with  the  multitude  in  securing  the  present  good 
even  to  the  neglect  of  future  good.  In  this  we 
have  a  striking  exemplification  of  that  declaration 
of  Holy  Writ,  that  "there  is  a  way  which seemeth 
right  unto  a  man,  but  the  end  thereof  are  the  ways 
of  death." 

So  much  then  for  the  truth  of  the  assumptions  of 
the  text.  Now  I  propose  to  urge  obedience  to  the 
injunction  of  the  text,  by  calling  attention  to  some 
reasons  Avhy  we  should  not  follow  the  multitude 
to  do  evil.  In  the  first  place,  God,  who  has  the 
rightful  authority,  commands  us  not  to  do  it. 
The  potter  has  power  over  the  clay.  God  has  the 
right  to  command  us  to  do  what  He  chooses,  and 
forbid  our  doing  what  He  will.  No  sane  man 
makes  an  issue  about  this.  Men  may  dispute 
whether  or  not  a  thing  is  the  command  of  God, 
whether  or  not  what  professes  to  be  an  injunction 
from  God  really  emanates  from  Him,  but  no  in- 
telligent man  stultifies  himself  so  much  as  to  deny 


236  SERMONS. 

God's  right  to  lay  whatever  injunction  He  may 
please  to  lay  upon  us.  The  highest  authority  and 
the  strongest  reason  for  obedience  to  any  com- 
mand, is  that  it  issues  from  God,  whether  it  ac- 
cords with  our  methods  of  thought,  or  modes  of 
reasoning,  or  not.  The  first  and  greatest  reason, 
then,  why  we  should  obey  the  injunction  of  the 
text,  is,  that  it  issues  from  God. 

The  injunction  is  not  only  the  command  of  God, 
but  obedience  to  it  may  be  urged  from  the  follow- 
ing reasons  :  First,  that  which  is  wrong  in  an 
individual,  is  wrong  in  a  multitude  of  individuals. 
Though  every  person  in  the  world  should  do  a 
thins;  which  is  wrong,  that  would  not  make  it 
right.  The  multitude  cannot  sanctify  evil,  and 
render  it  good  ;  and  yet  there  are  a  great  many 
people  who  have  this  idea.  They  have  no  other 
standard  for  their  conduct.  If  it  is  the  way  of 
the  world,  the  fashion,  the  common  practice,  if  the 
multitude  do  it,  it  is  sufficient  for  them.  This  is 
exemplified  in  the  extortion  now  practiced  upon 
the  country.  How  many  have  reference  to  what 
a  thing  is  worth  in  selling  ?  Speculators  buy  up 
the  necessaries  of  life,  and  hold  them  at  the  high- 
est prices — two  or  three  hundred  per  cent. — others 
follow  the  example,  and  good  men  are  found  in 
market  practicing  extortion,  grinding  down  the 
poor  under  the  plea  that  they  are  entitled  to  the 
same  that  others  get,  when  the  multitude,  by  trick 


FOLLOWING  THE  MULTITUDE.  237 

and  stratagem,  get  up  these  fabulous  prices.  And 
there  are  many  who  really  think  this  is  right, 
because  the  multitude  do  it.  Who  asks  conscience 
whether  it  is  right  to  sell  merchandise  at  two  or 
three  hundred  per  cent.  ?  Who  asks  conscience 
whether  it  is  right  to  sell  corn  at  ten  dollars  per 
barrel?  The  question,  "what  is  the  highest  fig- 
ure ?"  is  put  to  the  market  man,  instead  of  con- 
science, under  the  conviction  that  it  is  right. 
Now  it  may  be  just  for  a  man  to  ask  the  highest 
price,  and  take  it,  but  is  it  merciful  ?  A  man  has 
not  only  to  be  just,  but  he  is  to  be  merciful.  God 
could  demand  from  you  your  life,  and  damn  you 
in  hell,  without  regard  to  the  fact  as  to  whether  it 
would  be  a  very  comfortable  thing  for  you,  but 
would  it  be  merciful  in  Him  to  do  so  without  giv- 
ing you  time  and  opportunity  to  repent  ?  How 
can  any  man  expect  mercy  from  God  when  he 
shows  none  to  his  fellow  man?  "With  what 
measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be  measured  to  you 
again."  The  point  I  am  endeavoring  to  make  is 
this,  that  that  which  is  wrong  can  never  be  con- 
verted into  right,  that  that  which  is  evil  can  never 
be  converted  into  that  which  is  good,  though  every 
man  on  the  face  of  this  earth  practiced  it.  And 
yet  there  are  thousands  of  persons  who  lay  aside 
God's  word,  and  the  counsels  of  the  wise  and 
good,  and  the  dictates  of  conscience,  and  govern 
themselves  in  their,  conduct  by  the  opinions,  and 
practices   of   the   multitude.      There    are    many 


238  SERMONS. 

people  that  pass  for  decent,  respectable  people, 
who  would  steal  if  the  multitude  did  it,  and  they 
would  regard  it  right.  This  is  their  standard  of 
right  and  wrong. 

Again,  you  should  not  go  with  the  multitude  to 
do  evil,  because  the  consequences  of  evil  doing 
cannot  be  mitigated  at  all,  but  will  rather  be 
aggravated,  by  having  a  multitude  of  companions. 
There  is  an  old  saying,  that  "  misery  loves  com- 
pany," but  we  have  pretty  good  authority  for  say- 
ing that  hell's  misery  is  aggravated  by  company. 
You  remember  the  rich  man  in  hell  tried  to  get 
Lazarus  to  come  and  dip  his  linger  in  water  and 
cool  his  tongue,  and  when  Abraham  would  not 
send  Lazarus  to  his  relief  he  tried  to  get  him  to 
send  him  to  live  brethren,  which  he  had  here  in 
this  world,  and  warn  them  not  to  come  to  that 
place  of  torment.  I  reckon  it  does  not  relieve  a 
man  in  the  bottomless  pit  to  hear  his  brother  or 
friend  gnashing  his  teeth  about  his  ears.  I  guess 
the  scream  of  one's  neighbor  is  not  very  pleasant 
music  to  him,  when  his  own  heart  is  tearing  itself 
with  groanings  which  it  cannot  utter.  It  is  the 
multitude  that  makes  the  thunder  of  the  wail  that 
reverberates  along  the  sides  of  the  pit.  As  the 
voices  of  the  one  hundred  and  forty  and  four 
thousand,  and  the  innumerable  company  which 
no  man  could  number,  swell  the  song  of  the 
angels,  and  heighten  the  melody  of  Heaven  ;  as 
the  smiles  of  the  myriads  of  the  redeemed,  with 


FOLLOWING  THE  MULTITUDE.  23 3 

waving  palms,  thrill  the  soul  of  the  participant, 
so  the  wails,  and  groans,  and  clanking  chains  of 
the  lost  augment  and  aggravate  the  misery  in 
hell. 

Finally,  you  should  not  go  with  the  multi- 
tude to  do  evil,  because,  sooner  or  later,  the  pen- 
alty annexed  to  evil  doing  will  inevitably  over- 
take you.  As  an  individual,  it  is  impossible  that 
you  can  escape.  You  may  escape  for  a  long  time  ; 
you  may  prosper,  and  nourish,  and  increase  in 
riches ;  you  may  live  to  be  old  and  enjoy  fine 
health ;  your  eyes  may  stand  out  in  fatness  ;  you 
may  even  forget  that  there  are  such  things  as  sor- 
row, and  sickness  and  disappointments  in  the 
world  ;  but  evil  days  will  certainly  come,  when 
you  will  say,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  them.  He 
presents  a  sad  spectacle,  who  has  spent  the  morn- 
ing and  noon  of  his  life  in  health  and  prosperity, 
and  when  the  evening  comes  on  drags  out  a  few 
miserable  years  in  pain  and  disease,  following  the 
shade  in  the  morning  and  evening,  with  swollen 
and  fevered  limbs,  changing  from  bed  to  pallet 
and  lounge,  regretting  his  ill-spent  life,  loathing 
his  ill-gotten  gains,  because  they  cannot  minister 
to  his  pleasure.  Or,  if  it  comes  not  in  a  lingering 
form,  you  are  taken  with  a  stroke  when  a  great 
ransom  cannot  deliver  thee.  You  remember  the 
Psalmist  said,  when  he  saw  the  prosperity  of  the 
wicked,  "his  feet  well  nigh  slipped,  his  steps 
were  almost  gone,"  until  he  went  into  the  sanctu- 


240  SERMONS. 

ary ;  then  lie  understood  their  end  ;  then  he  saw 
that  they  were  set  in  slippery  places,  that  they 
were  cast  clown  into  destruction,  that  they  were 
brought  into  desolation  as  in  a  moment,  that  they 
were  utterly  consumed  with  terrors.  In  some 
form,  at  some  time,  it  is  to  become  a  fact  in  your 
history,  that  here  in  this  life  you,  in  a  measure, 
suffer  the  consequences  of  evil  doing,  as  the 
Psalmist  plainly  teaches,  and  as  the  word  of  God 
teaches,  in  many  places.  In  the  world  to  come  the 
consequences  of  evil  doing  will  be  fully  visited 
upon  you.  The  penalty  surely  comes.  Then  you 
who  are  following  the  multitude,  you  who  are  do- 
ing wrong  because  many  others  are  doing  so,  let 
me  impress  upon  you  the  injunction  of  the  text, 
"  Thou  shalt  not  follow  a  multitude  to  do  evil." 


japttew.— jJmMtt  !♦ 


(The  pamphlet  alluded  to  in  the  two  following  Sermons  teas  circulated  in  the 
Salisbury  District  while  Dr.  Reid  was  Presiding  Elder  of  the  same, 
and  ivas  entitled  "  Reasons  for  Becoming  a  Baptist"  by  R<.v.  S.  Rem- 
ington, published  and  circulated  by  the  American  Baptist  Publication 
Society  of  Philadelphia. — Eds.) 


"  One  Lord,  one  Faith,  one  Baptism." — Ephesians,  iv,  5. 


I  propose  to-day  taking  the  subject  of  baptism 
for  presentation,  consequently  dismiss  from  pres- 
ent consideration  the  two  first  members  of  the 
text,    "  One    Lord,    one    faith."     It    has    always 


BAPTISM. — SEEMON   1.  241 

been  to  me,  since  I  was  a  boy,  a  matter  of  as- 
tonishment that  this  sacrament,  baptism,  should 
be  the  occasion  of  so  much  controversy  and 
quarrelling,  that  it  should  be  magnified  into  so 
much  importance  by  certain  parties  ;  magnified 
so  much  above  the  Lord's  Supper,  aye,  even 
above  the  Cross.  But  it  results  from  a  species  of 
religious  fanaticism  which  has  ever  and  anon 
manifested  itself  since  the  institution  of  the 
Church.  If  I  had  time  I  could  bring  up  the  his- 
tory of  the  Church,  and  exhibit  the  old  fanatical 
issues  which  wTere  successively  dividing  and  cor- 
rupting the  Church,  and  the  similarity  between 
those  old  issues  and  this  issue  on  baptism  would 
show  it  to  be  one  of  the  same  family,  of  the  same 
nature,  going  off  with  the  shadow,  and  neglecting 
the  substance.  It  is  astonishing  into  what  error 
and  into  what  ridiculous  notions  religious  fanati- 
cism will  lead  men  when  unchecked. 

Because  the  Methodists  have  been  compara- 
tively silent  on  the  subject  of  baptism  in  this  por- 
tion of  the  country,  many  conclude  that  we  have 
surrendered  the  question,  that  we  are  afraid  to 
meet  it,  are  afraid  of  controversy.  Because  we 
have  thought  it  best  to  preach  Christ  crucified,  to 
inculcate  the  doctrines  of  experimental  religion, 
teach  and  insist  upon  practical  holiness,  instead 
of  crying  li  water,  water ,"  continually  in  our  ser- 
mons ;  because  we  have  thought  it  best  to  figh< 


242  SERMONS. 

the  devil  instead  of  fighting  our  sister  Churches, 
we  are  charged  with  being  afraid  of  controversy. 
Afraid  of  controversy !  Why,  the  Methodist 
Church  was  born  amidst  agitation;  her  infancy 
was  rocked  in  the  throes  of  controversy.  She 
struck  her  roots  in  the  soil  and  lifted  her  giant 
arms  in  the  heavens  amidst  the  peltings  of  oppo- 
sition, growing  in  a  little  more  than  a  century 
from  a  little  handful  that  met  Mr.  Wesley  once  a 
week,  to  hundreds  and  hundreds  of  thousands. 
With  the  sword  of  truth,  the  word  of  God,  our 
fathers  fought  the  way  of  our  Church  to  her  pres- 
ent position  of  influence,  and  their  sons  have  been 
trained  to  emulate  their  illustrious  example  when 
the  cause  of  truth  demands  it.  Afraid  of  con- 
trovers}^ !  I  tell  you  the  reason  why  the  Metho- 
dist Church  has  laid  aside  the  weapons  of  contro- 
versy :  it  is  because  she  has  achieved  her  triumph, 
she  has  won  the  field,  she  has  vanquished  her  foes 
pretty  nearly  upon  all  the  main  doctrines  involved 
in  the  contest.  There  is  a  little  guerrilla  warfare 
now  and  then,  a  little  shooting  from  hiding  places, 
but  where  is  the  orthodox  Church  in  the  land  that 
does  not  preach  the  doctrines  for  which  the  Meth- 
odist Church  fought — salvation  by  faith  exhibited 
by  works,  a  free  salvation  for  all,  a  knowledge  of 
sins  forgiven,  the  witness  of  the  spirit,  holiness  in 
order  to  gain  heaven.  Having  gotten  these  very 
Churches  right  on  the  main  essential  doctrines, 


BAPTISM. SERMOX  1.  243 

they  are  adopting  our  modes  and  methods — 
building  arbors,  holding  camp  meetings,  working 
to  get  up  revivals,  and  telling  men  they  must 
strive  if  they  enter  in  at  the  straight  gate.  Hav- 
ing gotten  them  right  on  these,  our  Church  has 
thought  it  best  not  to  waste  her  energies  on  what 
she  conceives  to  be  non-essential,  such  as  the  dif- 
ference between  baptizing  a  man  in  water  and 
with  water  ;  and  so  long  as  other  Churches  hold 
these  non-essential  points  in  their  own  churches 
we  have  no  objection  ;  but  when  they  go  beyond 
their  own  bounds,  and  undertake  to  interrupt  our 
Church — try  to  sow  the  seeds  of  discontent,  en- 
deavor to  interrupt  the  peace  of  our  members, 
then  there  is  cause  for  controversy  on  a  non- 
essential point,  to  paralyze  its  power  of  mischief- 
making.  And  if  we  are  compelled  to  it — dragged 
into  it — we  are  rendered  the  more  hopeful  by  our 
past  success,  that  we,  as  a  Church,  shall  be  able 
to  set  them  right  on  this  as  we  have  done  on 
other  subjects.  I  am  going  to  deal  plainly — call 
things  by  their  proper  names.  I  do  not,  of 
course,  expect  to  investigate  this  subject  minutely 
or  thoroughly.  I  have  not  time  to  do  this  in  a 
sermon  ;  but,  by  adapting  my  method  to  the 
humblest  capacity,  my  plan  is  to  endeavor  to 
give  you  the  pith  of  the  arguments.  And  I  wish 
here  now  to  state,  that  for  all  good  Baptists  I 
have  profound  respect  and  Christian  love  ;  and 


244  SERMONS. 

if  anything  shall  fall  from  my  lips  that  may  be 
regarded  as  severe  and  cutting,  I  do  not  intend 
that  for  good,  pious  Baptists. 

I  now  proceed  to  call  your  attention  to  the 
nature  of  baptism  and  its  design.  Water  bap- 
tism is  designed  to  represent  the  baptism  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  is,  consequently,  the  sign  of  re- 
generation, or  the  new  birth.  Proof — Acts  x, 
43  :  "  To  him  gave  all  the  prophets  witness,"  &c. 
John  iii,  5-7  :  "Jesus  answered,  Verily,  verily 
I  say  unto  thee,  except  a  man  be  born  of  water, 
and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  God.  That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is 
flesh,  and  that  which  is  born  of  the  spirit  is  spirit. 
Marvel  not  that  I  said  unto  thee,  ye  must  be  born 
again."  1  John,  v,  7:  "For  there  are  Three 
that  bear  record  in  heaven,  the  Father,  the  Word, 
and  the  Holy  Ghost," &c.  Gal.  iii,  27-29  :  "For 
as  many  of  you  as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ, 
have  put  on  Christ.  There  is  neither  Jew  nor 
Greek,  there  is  neither  bond  nor  free,  there  is 
neither  male  nor  female  :  for  ye  are  all  one  in 
Christ  Jesus  ;  and  if  ye  be  Christ's,  then  are  ye 
Abraham's  seed,  and  heirs  according  to  the 
promise."  As  a  sign  it  is  the  initiatory  rite  into 
the  Church.  "Go,  teach  all  nations,  baptizing 
them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Ghost."  "  Whosoever  believeth  and  is  baptized, 
shall  be  saved."     Here  is  a  precious  little  docu- 


BAPTISM. SERMON  1.  245 

ment  that  is  circulated  by  the  sanction  and 
authority  of  Baptists,  and  it  admits  this,  and  says 
all  are  agreed  that  it  should  be  administered  to 
the  same  subject  but  once.  It  is  also  a  confirm- 
ing sign  or  seal. 

I  propose  this  morning  to  discuss  the  mode  of 
the  administration  of  baptism.  My  proposition  is 
that  the  mode  in  which  water  is  applied,  or  used, 
in  this  sacrament  is  not  essential.  We  sprinkle, 
pour  water  upon,  or  immerse  the  candidate  in 
water.  And  just  here,  I  may  as  well  notice  that 
my  text  is  used  against  us.  "  One  Lord,  one 
faith,  one  baptism."  We  are  charged  with  having 
three  baptisms.  Some  people  are  simple  enough 
to  think  that  because  we  baptize  in  three  ways, 
we  have  three  baptisms,  and  of  course  are  wrong, 
because  the  text  says  "one  bajrtism."  We  have 
only  one  baptism,  but  three  ways  or  modes  of 
administering  it ;  not  three  baptisms,  but  three 
ways  of  administering  one  baptism.  Let  me  illus- 
trate. Three  persons  are  travelling — one  is  in 
a  carriage,  another  on  horseback,  and  the  other 
on  foot.  Is  it  not  one  and  the  same  thing;  that 
all  three  are  doing,  travelling?  They  are  not 
doing  three  different  things,  but  they  are  doing 
the  same  thing  in  three  different  ways,  or  by 
three  different  methods.  We  have,  therefore, 
one  baptism,  but  administer  it  in  three  different 
ways,   as   each   individual   prefers,   being  "  fully 


246  SERMONS. 

persuaded  in  his  own  mind."  And  we  do  this 
because  the  mode  is  not  essential.  In  showing 
that  the  mode  is  not  essential  we  shall  show  that 
immersion  is  not  the  only  mode,  but  that  pouring 
and  sprinkling  are  equally  Scriptural  and  right, 
and  I  will  go  farther  and  say,  that  sprinkling  and 
pouring  are  more  Scriptural,  for  I  hesitate  not  to 
say  that  there  is  not  recorded  in  the  Bible  a 
clear  case  of  immersion;  but  even  if  there  were 
recorded  clear  cases  of  immersion  it  would  not 
alter  my  position.  There  are  three  arguments 
which  I  might  offer  to  prove  that  immersion  is 
not  the  only  mode  of  baptism,  but  I  propose  only 
to  offer  the  arguments  drawn  from  Scripture,  at 
this  time. 

I  prefer  to  take  the  Scriptural  argument.  I 
propose  to  show  by  the  teachings  of  inspiration 
that  immersion  is  not  the  exclusive  mode.  Now, 
if  I  show  that  it  is  taught  in  the  Scriptures  that 
any  one  person  was  baptized  by  any  other 
method  than  immersion,  then  I  show  that  immer- 
sion is  not  the  only  Scriptural  mode. 

The  first  case  which  I  present  is  the  baptism 
of  the  Apostle  Paul.  He  was  most  clearly  and 
evidently  not  immersed.  "And  Ananias  went 
his  way,  and  entered  into  the  house  ;  and  putting 
his  hands  on  him  said,  Brother  Saul,  the  Lord, 
even  Jesus,  that  appeared  unto  thee  in  the  way 
as  thou  earnest,  hath  sent  me,  that  thou  mightest 


BAPTISM. SERMON  1.  247 

receive  thy  sight,  and  be  filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost.  And  immediately  there  fell  from  his 
eyes  as  if  it  had  been  scales  :  and  he  received 
sight  forthwith,  and  arose,  and  was  baptized  " — 
Acts,  ix,  17,  18.  The  Greek  word  used  is  "  an- 
astas"— stood  up,  and  was  baptized.  It  is  so 
translated  in  Mark,  xiv,  60:  "And  the  high 
priest  stood  up  (anastas)  in  the  midst  and  asked 
Jesus,"  &c.  It  is  so  translated  in  many  in- 
stances. "And  he  came  to  Nazareth  where  he 
had  been  brought  up  :  and  as  his  custom  was,  he 
went  into  the  synagogue  on  the  Sabbath  day  and 
stood  up  (anaste)  for  to  read." — Luke,  iv,  1G. 
"  And  there  stood  up  (anastas)  one  of  them 
named  Agabus,"  &c. — Acts,  xi,  28.  Now  then, 
what  is  the  conclusive  rendering  of  "and  he  stood 
up  and  was  baptized?"  It  is  clear  that  the  mode 
in  this  case  was  not  immersion. 

The  second  case  is  that  of  the  Philippian 
jailor.  We  will  read  the  history.  "  And,  when 
they  had  laid  many  stripes  upon  them  (that  is 
Paul  and  Silas)  they  cast  them  into  prison, 
charging  the  jailor  to  keep  them  safely  ;  who 
having  received  such  a  charge,  thrust  them  into 
the  inner  prison  and  made  their  feet  fast  in  the 
stocks." — Acts,  xvi,  23,  24.  The  inspired  writer 
then  goes  on  to  tell  how  Paul  and  Silas  prayed 
and  sang,  and  how  the  prison  shook,  and,  when 
the  doors  were  opened  by  the  shaking,  the  jailor 


248  SERMONS. 

drew  his  sword  and  was  about  to  kill  himself, 
but  Paul  told  him  they  were  all  there,  aud  he 
then  sprang  into  the  prison  where  they  were — 
in  the  inner  prison — brought  them  out  of  the  inner 
prison  into  the  outer  prison,  and  there  he  washed 
their  stripes,  and  there  he  was  baptized,  and 
then  he  took  them  into  the  house,  or  the  apart- 
ment of  the  prison  in  which  he  lived.  Was  there 
likely  a  baptismal  font  there  ?  I  guess  the 
jailor  and  the  migistrates  would  hardly  keep  one, 
as  the}r  did  not  believe  in  it,  but  were  bitter 
enemies  of  the  whole  thing.  But  our  Baptist 
friends,  hard  pressed,  are  driven  to  the  necessity 
of  drawing  on  their  imagination,  and  supply  a 
part  of  the  history  not  in  the  record  and  not  re- 
concilable to  it.  They  say  that  Paul  and  Silas 
took  the  jailor  and  his  family  off  and  baptized 
them  and  then  returned.  Why,  then,  does  Paul 
refuse  even  to  go  out  of  the  house  when  word  is 
sent  to  him  to  depart  in  peace  ?  No,  he  says,  let 
them  come  and  fetch  us  out.  If  he  had  been  off 
from  the  prison  hunting  for  a  lake  or  pond  it 
would  be  nothing  but  downright  hypocrisy  in 
him  to  pretend  that  he  would  not  go  out  of  the 
jail  until  they  took  him  out.  This,  then,  is  an- 
other perfectly  clear  case  where  baptism  was 
administered  some  other  way  than  by  immersion. 
The  third  case  is  that  of  Cornelius,  which  we 
find   in   Acts,  tenth  chapter.     Cornelius,  warned 


BAPTISM.— SERMON  1.  249 

of  God  by  an  angel,  sent  for  Peter,  and  waiting 
for  him,  called  together  his  kinsmen  and  near 
friends,  and  as  Peter  was  coming  in  Cornelias 
fell  down  at  his  feet,  and  Peter  made  him  get  up, 
and  then  Peter  preached  to  them  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  fell  on  all  them  which  heard  the  word. 
Then  says  Peter,  there  in  the  house — there  is 
no  hint  that  they  left  or  that  there  was  any  de- 
lay— "  Can  any  man  forbid  ivater,  that  these 
should  not  be  baptized  which  have  received  the 
Holy  Ghost,  as  well  as  we  ?"  and  the  inference 
that  they  were  then  and  there  baptized. 

The  fourth  case  is  that  of  the  Israelites.  Now 
let  us  get  the  facts  as  related  Irv  Moses.  "  And 
the  children  of  Israel  went  into  the  midst  of  the  sea 
upon  the  dry  ground,  and  the  waters  were  a  wall 
unto  them  on  their  right  hand,  and  on  their  left." 
— Exodus,  xiv,  22.  Again  we  read  :  "And  the 
waters  returned  and  covered  the  chariots,  and  the 
horsemen,  and  all  the  host  of  Pharaoh  that  came 
into  the  sea  after  them  ;  there  remained  not  so 
much  as  one  of  them.  But  the  children  of  Israel 
walked  upon  dry  land  in  the  midst  of  the  sea, 
and  the  waters  were  a  wall  unto  them  on  their 
right  hand  and  on  their  left  " — Exodus,  xiv,  28 
29.  Paul  says  :  "  By  faith  they  passed  through 
the  Red  Sea  as  by  dry  land  ;  which  the  Egyp-  . 
tians  essaying  to  do  were  drowned."  Heb.,  xi, 
29.     Now,  Paul  says  again  :  "Moreover,  breth- 

12 


250  SERMONS. 

ren,  I  would  not  that  ye  should  be  ignorant,  how 
that  all  our  fathers  were  under  the  cloud  ;  and 
all  passed  through  the  sea  and  were  all  baptized 
unto  Moses  in  the  cloud,  and  in  the  sea.'7  I  Cor., 
x,  1,  2.  Now,  if  the  history  is  true  they  were 
not  immersed,  for  they  passed  on  dry  land — dry 
ground,  and  the  idea  that  six  hundred  thousand 
men,  besides  women  and  children,  were  dipped — 
immersed  on  dry  ground  is  simply  ridiculous. 
Let  the  Psalmist  tell  us  how  they  were  baptized. 
"  The  waters  saw  thee,  0,  God,  the*  waters  saw 
thee  ;  they  were  afraid  :  the  depths  also  were 
troubled.  The  clouds  poured  out  water ;  the 
skies  sent  out  a  sound  ;  thine  arrows  also  went 
abroad." — Psalms,  lxxvii,  16,  17.  Here  God 
performs  the  rite  and  explains  the  mode  unmis- 
takably. Here  are  four  distinct  instances  in 
which  baptism  was  administered  otherwise  than 
by  immersion,  and  right  here  we  might  rest  the 
case  ;  no  matter  how  many  instances  might  be 
shown  of  immersion,  these  four,  to  say  nothing 
about  others,  will  forever  prove  that  immersion 
is  not  the  only  mode.  But  it  is  alleged  that 
Christ  was  immersed,  and  we  are  to  follow 
Christ,  with  Him  go  down  under  the  water  ;  and 
with  this  the  Baptists  have  made  more  proselytes 
than  with  any  other  argument.  They  say,  "read 
the  third  chapter  of  Matthew  and  learn  there 
your  duty."     This  is   their  strong  point.     This 


BAPTISM. SERMON  1.  251 

little  pamphlet,  "  Reasons  for  becoming  a  Bap- 
tist," states  it  thus,  on  page  18  : 

"  From  the  whole,  my  conclusions  were  that 
Christ  was  baptized  under  the  gospel  dispensa- 
tion ;  not  as  a  Jewish  priest ;  not  unto  repent- 
ance— for  He  had  no  sin  to  repent  of — but  as 
our  great  Teacher  and  Exemplar  of  practical  obe- 
dience ;  ratifying  the  ordinance  by  sealing  it 
with  His  own  example,  that  all  His  Church 
should  follow  His  steps.  I  can  see  it  in  no  other 
light." 

"Christ  was  baptized  under  the  gospel  dispen- 
sation, not  as  a  Jewish  priest."  The}',  the  Bap- 
tists, say  that  Christ  has  only  instituted  one 
Church,  and  we  are  to  follow  His  example.  Now, 
I  undertake  to  show  that  John's  baptism  was  not 
Christian  baptism — that  Christ,  consequently,  was 
not  baptized  with  Christian  baptism,  and  never  in- 
tended that  His  baptism  should  be  an  example  to 
us  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  He  was  set  apart,  in- 
troduced into  His  priestly  office  by  the  washing 
applied  by  John.  I  reckon  that  it  will  be  agreed 
to  that  John's  baptism  and  all  his  services  in  the 
Church  preceded  and  were  preparatory  to  the 
Christian  dispensation.  The  Scriptures  emphat- 
ically state  it :  "  Behold,  I  will  send  my  messen- 
ger and  he  shall  prepare  the  way  before  me." — 
Mai.,  iii,  1.  John  said,  when  he  appeared,  that 
he  was  not  the  Christ,  but  that  he  was  sent  before 


252  SERMONS. 

Him.  "This  is  he  that  was  spoken  of  by  the 
prophet  Esaias,  saying,  The  voice  of  one  crying 
in  the  wilderness,  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the 
Lord,  make  His  paths  straight."  His  manner  of 
preaching  was  not  that  of  a  gospel  minister.  He 
did  not  preach  a  crucified,  and  buried,  and  arisen, 
and  ascended  Saviour — he  simply  preached  a 
kingdom  at  hand,  and  that  was  what  he  baptized  for 
— to  prepare  the  way  for  the  Christian  baptism. 
Hear  this,  "that  He  (that  is  Christ),  might  be 
made  manifest  to  Israel,  therefore  am  I  come, 
baptizing  with  water."  "He  that  cometh  after 
me  will  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and 
with  fire."  The  character  and  epithets  applied 
to  John  show  that  he  never  was  considered  a  min- 
ister of  the  Christian  dispensation.  Hear  Zacha- 
rias,  quoted  by  St.  Luke,  i,  76  :  "  And  thou,  child, 
shalt  be  called  the  prophet  of  the  Highest,  for 
thou  shalt  go  before  the  face  of  the  Lord  to  pre- 
pare His  ways."  Eefer  to  Matthew,  xi,  7,  8,  9. 
"  What  went  ye  out  into  the  wilderness  to  see? 
A  reed  shaken  with  the  wind  ?  But  what  went 
ye  out  for  to  see  ?  A  man  clothed  in  soft  raiment  ? 
behold,  they  that  wear  soft  clothing  are  in  king's 
houses.  But  what  went  ye  out  for  to  see  ?  A 
prophet?  yea,  I  say  unto  }rou  and  more  than  a 
prophet.  For  this  is  he  of  whom  it  is  written,  "  Be- 
hold, I  send  my  messenger  before  thy  face,  which 
shall  prepare  the   way  before   thee."     John  was 


BAPTISM. SERMON  1.  253 

not  only  a  prophet,  but  superior  to  all  the  pro- 
phets, and  yet  was  inferior  to  the  least  in  the  king- 
dom of  heaven,  John  was  not  a  preacher  in  the 
Christian  dispensation,  for  his  commission  was  dif- 
ferent. The  commission  in  the  Christian  dispen- 
sation is,  "Go  into  all  the  world;"  "Go,  teach  all 
nations.'7  John's  commission  was,  "Go  not  into 
the  way  of  the  Gentiles,  and  into  any  city  of  the 
Samaritans  enter  ye  not,  but  go  rather  to  the  lost 
sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel."  His  baptism  was 
not  called  Christian  baptism,  but  was  called 
"John's  baptism."  And  now,  if  anything  more 
is  wanting,  the  whole  matter  is  put  to  rest — for- 
ever settled — by  the  fact  that  John's  disciples 
were  rebaptized  by  Paul's  direction.  Refer  to 
Acts,  xix,  and  read:  "And  it  came  to  pass,  that 
while  Apollos  was  at  Corinth,  Paul  having  passed 
through  the  upper  coasts,  came  to  Ephesus ;  and 
finding  certain  disciples  he  said  unto  them,  have  ye 
received  the  Holy  Ghost  since  ye  believed  ?  And 
they  said  unto  him,  we  have  not  so  much  as  heard 
whether  there  be  any  Holy  Ghost.  And  he  said 
unto  them,  unto  what  then  were  ye  baptized? 
And  they  said,  unto  John's  baptism.  Then  said 
Paul,  John  verily  baptized  with  the  baptism  of 
repentance,  saying  unto  the  people  that  they 
should  believe  on  Him  which  should  come  after 
him,  that  is,  on  Christ  Jesus.  "When  they  heard  this 
they  were  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 


254  SERMONS. 

And  when  Paul  had  laid  his  hands  upon  them  the 
Holy  Ghost  came  on  them,  and  they  spake  with 
tongues  and  prophesied.  And  all  the  men  were 
about  twelve." 

"Reasons  for  becoming  a  Baptist,"  in  speaking 
of  this,  says:  "These  persons  were  undoubtedly 
rebaptized.  But  why?  Was  it  because  of  any 
imperfection  in  John's  baptism  ?  I  think  not. 
But  the  whole  passage  implies  that  they  had  been 
baptized  irregularly." 

Baptized  irregularly!  Where  is  the  proof  of 
this  ?  Who  did  it  ?  John  ?  Where  is  there  any 
evidence  that  any  one  else  baptized  with  John's 
baptism  but  John  himself?  If  anybody  baptized 
them  irregularly  it  was  John  himself. 

Again,  no  one  will  pretend  that  John  baptized 
in  the  name  of  the  Trinity.  All  agree  that  this  is 
essential  to  Christian  baptism.  All  this  shows 
that  John's  baptism  was  not  Christian  baptism. 
In  the  very  nature  of  things  the  Christian  dis- 
pensation could  not  commence  until  the  old  dis- 
pensation was  abolished  by  the  death  of  Christ. 
"The  Passover  was  observed  until  Christ  insti- 
tuted the  Lord's  Supper.  The  temple  service  was 
hallowed  until  the  veil  was  rent  asunder  by  His 
death.  The  Jewish  Sabbath  was  observed  until 
He  arose  on  the  third  day."  Robt.  Hall,  the 
great  Baptist  of  England,  the  great  author  of  the 
Baptist  Church,  admits  in  his  works,  vol.  I,  page 


BAPTISM. SERMON  1.  255 

372:  "No  rite  celebrated  during  the  ministry  of 
John  is  entitled  to  a  place  among  Christian  sacra- 
ments."    This  is  his  language. 

Having  seen  that  Christ's  baptism  was  not 
Christian  baptism,  the  question  arises,  for  what 
vas  He  baptized?  His  baptism  was  consecration 
to  the  office  of  High  Priest.  Now,  the  proof  of 
this.  First,  "He  was  born  a  Jew,  was  circum- 
cised, lived  and  died  a  member  of  the  Jewish 
society."  This  will  not  be  denied.  Second,  He 
was  G-od's  High  Priest,  "called  of  God  as  was 
Aaron."  This  little  pamphlet  says  that  Christ 
was  not  baptized  as  a  Jewish  priest.  I  refer  to 
this  now  to  show  by  the  argument  of  the  Apostle 
that  He  was  G-od's  High  Priest,  and  how  He  was 
appointed,  and  also  to  expose  the  use  the  author 
makes  of  his  quotations.  Read  the  following  from 
Heb.,  vii,  14-24  :  "For  it  is  evident  that  our  Lord 
sprang  out  of  Juda ;  of  which  tribe  Moses  spake 
nothing  concerning  priesthood.  And  it  is  yet  far 
more  evident,  for  that  after  the  similitude  of  Mel- 
chisedec  there  ariseth  another  Priest,  who  is  made 
not  after  the  law  of  a  carnal  commandment,  but 
after  the  power  of  an  endless  life.  For  He  testi- 
fieth,  thou  art  a  priest  forever  after  the  order  of 
Melchisedec.  For  there  is  verily  a  disannulling 
of  the  commandment  going  before,  for  the  weak- 
ness and  unprofitableness  thereof;  for  the  law 
made  nothing  perfect,  but  the  bringing  in  of  a 


256  SERMONS. 

better  hope  did,  by  the  which  we  draw  nigh  unto 
God.  And  inasmuch  as  not  without  an  oath  He 
was  made  Priest :  (for  those  priests  were  made 
without  an  oath  ;  but  this  with  an  oath,  by  Him 
that  said  unto  Him,  the  Lord  sware,  and  will  not 
repent,  Thou  art  a  Priest  forever  after  the  order 
of  Melchiscdec):  by  so  much  was  Jesus  mafle 
surety  of  a  better  testament.  And  they  .truly 
were  many  priests,  because  they  were  not  suffered  - 
to  continue  by  reason  of  death  ;  but  this  Man,  be- 
cause He  continueth  ever,  hath  an  unchangeable 
priesthood." 

The  Apostle  is  showing  how  He  was  made  a 
priest,  though  He  was  not  sprung  from  Aaron  or 
Levi,  upon  whom  the  priesthood  was  settled. 
Now  this  man's  argument  here  in  "Reasons  for 
becoming  a  Baptist"  shows,  if  it  shows  anything 
at  all,  that  Christ  was  not  a  priest  at  all,  and 
could  not  be,  because  He  sprang  from  another 
tribe.  The  Apostle. is  showing  how  he  could  be 
and  was  chosen  of  God,  and  this  man  takes  por- 
tions of  his  argument  and  makes  him  contradict 
himself.  If  he  had  read  it  all,  or  quoted  it  all,  it 
would  have  appeared  quite  differently.  Third,.:, 
the  Jewish  law  required  that  none  should  be 
High  Priests  until  they  were  thirty  years  of  age, 
were  washed  or  baptized  with  water,  and  anoint- 
ed with  holy  oil.  Read  Lev.,  viii,- 1-6:  "-And 
the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying:  Take  Aaron 


BAPTISM.— SERMON  1.  257 

and  his  sons  with  him,  and  the  garments,  and  the 
anointing  oil,  and  a  bullock  for  the  sin-offering, 
and  two  rams,  and  a  basket  of  unleavened  bread  ; 
and  gather  thou  all  the  congregation  together 
unto  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congrega- 
tion. And  Moses  did  as  the  Lord  commanded 
him  ;  and  the  assembly  was  gathered  together 
unto  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congrega- 
tion. And  Moses  said  unto  the  congregation, 
This  is  the  thing  which  the  Lord  commanded  to 
be  done.  And  Moses  brought  Aaron  and  his 
sons,  and  washed  them  with  water."  Also  Num., 
iv,  1-3:  "And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses  and 

:  unto  Aaron,  saying :  Take  the  sum  of  the  sons  of 
Kohath  from  araono;  the  sons  of  Levi,  after  their 
families,  by  the  house  of  their  fathers;  from  thirty 
years  old  and  upward,  even  until  fifty  years  old, 
all  that  enter  into  the  host,  to  do  the  work  in  the 
tabernacle  of  the  congregation."  No  one  disputes 
this.  Baptists  agree  to  it.  Now,  I  show  that 
Christ  answered  to  these  requirements.  St.  Luke, 
iii,   23,  says:  "And  Jesus  himself  began  to  be 

;  about  thirty  years  of  age."  Immediately  after 
His  baptism  He  was  anointed  with  the  Holy 
Ghost,  typified  by  the  holy  oil.  Read  Acts,  x, 
37,  38:  "That  word,  I  say,  you  know,  which  was 
published  throughout  all  Judea,  and  began  from 

•  (ratflee7  after  the  baptism  which  John  preached; 
how  God  anointed  Jesus  of  Nazareth  with  the 

12* 


258  SERMONS. 

Holy  G-host  and  with  power ;  who  went  about 
doing  good,  and  healing  all  that  were  oppressed 
of  the  devil,  for  God  was  with  Him." 

If  anything  is  now  lacking  to  prove  that  that 
was  the  object  of  His  baptism,  let  Christ  Himself 
give  the  finishing  stroke,  which  puts  it  beyond  all 
doubt.  Read  Matt.,  xxi,  23-27  :  "And  when  He 
was  come  into  the  temple  the  chief  priests  and  the 
elders  of  the  people  came  unto  Him  as  He  was 
teaching,  and  said:  By  what  authority  doest  Thou 
these  things?  and  who  gave  Thee  this  authority? 
And  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  them :  I  also 
will  ask  you  one  thing,  which  if  ye  tell  me  I  in 
likewise  will  tell  you  by  what  authority  I  do  these 
things.  The  baptism  of  John,  whence  was  it? 
from  heaven,  or  of  men  ?  And  they  reasoned 
with  themselves,  saying,  if  we  shall  say  from 
heaven,  He  will  say  unto  us,  why  did  ye  not  then 
believe  him?  But  if  we  shall  say  of  men,  we 
fear  the  people ;  for  all  hold  John  as  a  prophet. 
And  they  answered  Jesus  and  said,  we  cannot 
tell.  And  he  said  unto  them,  neither  tell  I  you 
by  what  authority  I  do  these  things." 

Here  we  see  Him  in  the  exercise  of  His  office, 
regulating  the  service  of  the  temple,  correcting 
misconduct  among  its  officers,  which  priests  alone 
had  a  right  to  do.  They  demanded  of  Him  His 
authority  for  doing  it.  Hear  His  reply:  '"The 
baptism   of  John,  whence  was  it?  from  heaven, 


BAPTISM. SERMON  1.  259 

or  of  men?"  John  had  the  right,  being  of  the 
Aaronic  order ;  and  having  consecrated  Him  He 
was  here  in  the  exercise  of  His  office.  "Reasons 
for  becoming  a  Baptist"  says,  page  16:  "The 
term  righteousness  denotes  practical  obedience." 
Obedience  to  what?  to  the  law?  Why,  He  had 
been  circumcised.  Now  being  made  a  high  priest, 
He  must  be  washed  or  baptized  and  keep  the 
Passover,  etc.,  and  thus  fulfil  all  righteousness. 

Now,  I  submit  if  this  is  not  the  fair  conclusion 
from  all  the  facts  ?  In  the  absence  of  all  this,  one 
reason  of  itself  would  be  sufficient  to  show  that 
He  did  not  intend  His  should  be  an  example. 
He  waited  until  He  was  thirty  years  of  age ;  and 
if  we  follow  His  example,  we  must  wait  until  we 
are  thirty  years  of  age  to  be  baptized.  If,  then, 
He  were  baptized  for  the  high  priesthood,  the 
strong  inference  is  that  He  was  not  immersed  by 
John,  but  washed,  as  John's  tribe  was  accustomed 
to  do  when  consecrating  a  priest.  Here  is  the 
mode  specific,  Num.,  viii,  5-7:  "And  the  Lord 
spake  unto  Moses,  saying :  Take  the  Levites  from 
among  the  children  of  Israel,  and  cleanse  them. 
And  thus  shalt  thou  do  unto  them,  to  cleanse 
them  :  Sprinkle  water  of  purifying  upon  them,  and 
let  them  shave  all  their  flesh,  and  let  them  wash 
their  clothes,  and  so  make  themselves  clean." 
Also  Ex.,  xxix.  4:  "And  Aaron  and  his  sons 
thou  shalt  bring  unto  the  door  of  the  tabernacle 


260  SERMONS. 

of  the  congregation,  and  shalt  wash  them  with 
water."  This  is  just  what  John  did.  Baptized 
Him  with,  not  under,  water;  not  at  the  door  of 
the  tabernacle,  but  at  Jordan,  in  open  space;  be- 
cause he  was  to  be  high  priest  not  only  for  the 
Jews,  but  for  all  the  world.  All  these  facts  con- 
strained the  great,  fair  minded  Baptist,  Robert 
Hall,  to  admit  what  we  contend  for.  He  says, 
page  372,  vol.  i.,  of  his  works:  "He  (Christ)  was 
inaugurated  into  His  office  (the  priesthood)  at  His 
baptism,  till  which  period  he  remained  in  the 
obscurity  of  private  life."  And  if  he  was  an 
example,  why  not  baptize  him  as  the  first  one  ? 
John's  disciples  were  baptized  before  He  was. 
They  were  baptized  unto  repentance.  Christ 
could  not  be  baptized  unto  repentance,  for  He 
was  without  sin,  and  the  irresistible  conclusion  is 
that  He  was  set  apart  for  the  high  priesthood  in 
His  baptism.  Christ  instituted  Christian  baptism 
himself  afterwards,  as  He  did  the  Lord's  Supper, 
and  that  is  the  baptism  He  wants  us  to  follow. 
Those  who  think  they  must  follow  Christ  in  His 
baptism,  ought  also  to  follow  Him  in  being  cir- 
cumcised, in  keeping  the  passover,  in  fasting  forty 
days  and  forty  nights,  in  washing  his  disciples' 
feet,  etc. 

But,  say  the  Baptists,  what  does  the  Apostle 
mean  in  writing  to  the  Romans,  vi,  3,4:  "  Know 
ye  not,  that  so  many  of  us  as  were  baptized  into 


BAPTISM. SERMON  1.  261 

Jesus  Christ,  were  baptized  into  His  death  ? 
Therefore  we  are  buried  with  Him  b}T  baptism 
into  death  ;  that  like  as  Christ  was  raised  up 
from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the  Father,  even 
so  we  also  should  walk  in  newness  of  life  ?"  Bap- 
tism is  here  used  as  a  sign  to  represent  the  death, 
burial,  and  resurrection  of  Christ,  and  as  the 
dead  are  put  down  into  the  grave,  the  baptized 
ought  to  be  put  down  into  the  water.  This  is 
what  the  Baptists  say.  "  Reasons  for  becoming  a 
Baptist  "  thus  states  it,  on  page  24  :  "I  consider 
that  a  careful  examination  of  this  passage  estab- 
lishes the  following  :  1.  That  baptism  is  here 
used  as  a  metaphor,  by  which  to  represent  the 
death,  burial,  and  resurrection  of  Christ.  2.  Of 
the  Christian's  death  to  sin,  and  resurrection  to 
spiritual  life."  I  shall  undertake  to  show  that  it 
is  only  used  to  represent  "the  Christian's  death 
to  sin,  and  resurrection  to  spiritual  life."  I  have 
not  time  to  discuss  all  the  points  involved  in  this 
controversy,  so  I  have  selected  the  strongest 
points.  This  passage  in  connection  with  Christ's 
baptism,  is  one  of  the  strongest  holds  of  exclu- 
sive immersionists,  and  if  I  can  show  that  this 
passage  avails  nothing  for  them,  they  go  to  the 
wall  the  second  time. 

In  the  first  place,  the  Lord's  Supper  was  insti- 
tuted to  show  forth  his  death  until  he  come  again. 
Now  He  would   not  add   another  sacrament,  to 


262  SERMONS. 

show  forth  the  same  thing.  Again,  putting  a  can- 
didate under  water,  does  not  represent  his  death, 
because  He  was  put  upon  the  Cross  in  the  air 
when  he  died  ;  neither  can  it  represent  his  burial, 
because  he  was  laid  in  a  sepulchre  above  ground  ■ 
neither  does  it  represent  an  ordinary  burial,  for 
plunging  a  man  under  and  jerking  him  out  is  not 
like  a  burial,  but  if  you  would  lay  him  down  and 
sprinkle  or  pour  water  upon  him,  there  might  be 
a  slight  resemblance.  Again,  if  it  had  been  a 
sign,  surely  the  disciples  of  Christ  would  have 
known  it.  They  certainly  did  not  so  understand 
it,  for  they  wondered  what  the  rising  from  the 
dead  should  mean  ;  if  baptism  was  a  sign  they 
were  administering  it  every  day,  and  certainly 
ought  to  have  understood  it.  Again,  the  "Romans, 
to  whom  the  Apostle  was  writing,  when  he  used 
the  figure,  would  not  have  understood  it,  for  they 
did  not  bury  their  dead  at  all.  They  burned 
their  dead  bodies  and  preserved  the  ashes. 
But  allow  that  the  Apostle  meant  it  in  a  spiritual 
sense,  as  the  death  of  sin  in  the  soul,  the  burning 
up  of  the  dross  of  sin,  and  the  purifying  of  the 
soul  by  the  fire  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  then  the 
figure,  borrowed  from  their  method  of  preserving 
their  dead  bodies,  becomes  very  striking.  Again, 
Christ  clearly,  and  positively,  and  emphatically 
says,  it  is  not  a  sign  of  his  death,  burial  and  re- 
surrection.   Now  hear  Him,  and  if  you  respect  His 


BAPTISM. — SERMON  I.  203 

words — if  you  believe  His  words,  insist  no  more 
that  it  does  represent  His  death,  burial,  and  re- 
surrection. Read  Matt,  xii,  39,  40:  "But  He 
answered  and  said  to  them,  an  evil  and  adulter- 
ous generation  seeketh  after  a  sign  ;  and  there 
shall  no  sign  be  given  to  it,  but  the  sign  of  the 
Prophet  Jonas  :  For  as  Jonas  was  three  days 
and  three  nights  in  the  whale's  belly,  so  shall  the 
Son  of  man  be  three  days  and  three  nights  in  the 
heart  of  the  earth."  Here  Christ  settles  the 
question  himself,  in  His  own  language. 

Having  shown  that  it  cannot  refer  to  Christ's 
death,  burial  and  resurrection,  it  is  not  necessary 
to  spend  much  time  in  showing  that  it  refers  to 
our  death  to  sin,  and  resurrection  to  spiritual  life. 
Baptists  admit  this,  as  I  have  shown  in  the  quo- 
tation from  one  of  their  authors.  How  is  this 
done  ?  Read  1  Cor.,  xii,  13  :  "  For  by  one  Spirit 
are  we  all  baptized  into  one  body,  whether  we  be 
Jews  or  G-entiles,  whether  we  be  bond  or  free;  and 
have  been  all  made  to  drink  into  one  Spirit." 
It  refers,  then,  to  our  spiritual  resurrection  to  life, 
our  spiritual  birth,  our  spiritual  baptism.  Then 
I  turn  the  argument  of  the  Baptists  upon  them. 
They  say,  arguing  that  it  refers  to  His  death, 
burial,  and  resurrection,  it  ought  to  be  harmoni- 
ous with  the  mode  of  issuing  water  ;  ought,  as 
far  as  possible,  to  represent  a  death,  burial,  and 
resurrection — the   thing  referred   to.     Now,    we 


264  SERMONS. 

have  it  that  it  does  not  and  cannot  refer  to  Christ's 
death,  burial,  and   resurrection,  but  it   refers   to 
the  death  of  sin  in    the  soul — the   death  of  the 
carnal  mind,  produced  by  the  regenerating  influ- 
ence of  the    Holy  Spirit.     Very   well,   then  the 
mode  of  issuing  water  to  represent  that,   should 
be   harmonious,    should   agree  with   the   manner 
in    which    that    thing    is     done,    according    to 
their  own    mode   of    reasoning.      How   is   that 
done  ?      How,     in     other    words,    is    the    soul 
baptized  with    the    Holy    Ghost  ?     As  this  was 
done,  so  John   and   the  Apostles    baptized  with 
water.     "  I,  indeed,  baptize  you  with  water  unto 
repentance  ;   but  He  that    cometh    after   me   is 
mightier   than   I,    whose  shoes   I  am  not  worthy 
to   bear  ;  He  shall  baptize  you  with   the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  with  fire."     To  prepare,  by  represen- 
tation, His  way — to  prepare  for  the  baptism  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  "  I  am  come  baptizing  with  water." 
How,  I  repeat,  was  and  is  the  soul  baptized  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  ?     Whenever  reference  is  made 
specially   to   the  baptism    of    the   Holy    Ghost, 
immersion  is  never  once  expressed,  or  implied,  but, 
on  the  contrary,  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
is  specifically  a  baptism  of  pouring  or  sprinkling. 
Now  the  proof  of  this,  Joel,  ii,  28,  29  :  "  And  it 
shall  come  to  pass  afterward,  that  I  will  pour  out 
my  Spirit  upon  all  flesh  ;  and  your  sons  and  your 
daughters   shall  prophesy,  your   old  men   shall 


BAPTISM. SERMON  1.  265 

dream  dreams,  your  young  men  shall  see  visions  : 
And  also  upon  the  servants  and  upon  the  hand- 
maids in  those  days  will  I  pour  out  my  Spirit," 
John,  referring  to  Christ,  who  should  fulfill  this 
prophecy,  declares,  "He  shall  baptize  you  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire."  Then  Jesus  ex- 
plains the  meaning  of  John,  and  confirms  the 
prophecy  of  Joel,  Acts  i,  5  :  "  For  John  truly 
baptized  with  water  ;  but  ye  shall  be  baptized 
with  the  Holy  Ghost  not  man}T  days  hence." 
And  now,  in  fulfillment  of  this  saying  of  Christ, 
Luke  tells  us,  Acts  ii,  3,  4:  "And  there  ap- 
peared unto  them  cloven  tongues  like  as  of  fire, 
and  it  sat  upon  each  of  them  :  And  they  were 
all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost."  And  then  Peter 
explains  the  whole  matter,  in  Acts  ii,  16,  18: 
"But  this  is  that  which  was  spoken  by  the  Prophet 
Joel.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days, 
saith  God,  I  will  pour  out  of  M}T  Spirit  upon  all 
flesh  :  and  }Tour  sons  and  your  daughters  shall 
prophesy,  and  your  young  men  shall  see  visions, 
and  your  old  men  shall  dream  dreams  :  And  on 
My  servants,  and  on  My  hand-maidens,  I  will 
pour  out  in  those  days  of  My  Spirit  ;  and  they 
shall  prophesy."  Then,  after  explaining  John's 
baptism,  he  goes  on  to  say,  Acts,  xi,  15,  16  : 
"And  as  I  began  to  speak,  the  Holy  Ghost  fell 
on  them,  as  on  us  at  the  beginning.  Then  remem- 
bered I  the  word  of  the   Lord,  how  that  He  said, 


266  SERMONS. 

•John  indeed  baptized  with  water  ;  but  ye  shall 
be  baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost."  How  then 
was  it?  Fell  on  them,  sat  on  them,  was  poured 
out  on  them.  Then  that  is  the  way  water  ought 
to  be  used.  Hear  Isaiah  lii,  15  :  "  So  shall  He 
sprinkle  many  nations."  If  we  understand  this 
literally — referring  to  water  baptism — it  settles 
the  question  as  to  the  mode,  but  the  Baptists  say 
we  must  understand  it  in  a  spiritual  sense.  Then 
it  settles  the  mode  of  spiritual  baptism,  and,  of 
course,  settles  the  question.  Once  more,  read 
Ezekiel,  xxxvi,  24,  25:  "For  I  will  take  you 
from  among  the  heathen,  and  gather  you  out  of 
all  countries,  and  will  bring  you  into  your  own 
land.  Then  will  I  sprinkle  clean  water  upon  yon, 
and  ye  shall  be  clean  ;  from  all  your  filthiness, 
and  from    all  your  idols  will  I  cleanse  you." 

"Very  well,"  perhaps  some  Baptist  is  ready  to 
say,  "allow  that  we  give  up  all  these  points,  then 
the  original  Greek  word  settles  the  question,  for 
its  primary  meaning  is  to  immerse."  "  Reasons 
for  becoming  a  Baptist"  says,  page  6:  "My 
next  business  was  to  obtain  the  meaning  of  the 
word  baptizo,  as  translated  by  Greek  lexicograph- 
ers. I  obtained  the  testimony  of  no  less  than 
twenty-three,  all  of  whom  agree  that  its  primary 
meaning  is  '  to  immerse,  plunge,  dip,  over- 
whelm ;"  and  a  few  of  them  give  as  a  remote 
meaning,  '  to  wash,  lave,  or  tinge.'  "     It  is  admit- 


BAPTISM. SERMON"  1.  267 

ted  that  it  means  to  wash,  to  pour,  to  sprinkle, 
but  is  claimed  that  its  first  meaning  is  to  im- 
merse, in  classic  literature.  What  did  tbe 
classic  writers  know  about  the  Christian  sacra- 
ment of  baptism  ?  Nothing  at  all,  never  used 
it  in  reference  to  it.  The  original  classic  Greek 
is  not  the  Greek  in  which  the  New  Testament 
was  written.  It  was  written  in  the  later  Greek 
as  spoken  by  the  foreigners  of  the  Hebrew  stock 
after  the  disuse  of  the  ancient  Hebrew  in  Pales- 
tine, and  the  irruption  of  the  Western  conquerors. 
The  Jews  adopted  the  Greek  language  from  ne- 
cessity. It  was  the  spoken  language  of  ordinary 
life  they  learned.  They  spoke  it  as  foreigners, 
and  used  it  in  relation  to  things  on  which  the  an- 
cient classics  never  wrote  or  spoke.  Now,  you 
can  see  how  they  would  use  a  word  which  came 
the  nearest  expressing  what  they  meant.  As 
this  word  was  used  in  the  sense  of  wash,  to 
cleanse  by  washing,  even  by  the  classic  authors, 
in  that  sense  they  used  it,  as  it  better  expressed 
their  meaning  than  any  word  that  had  exclusive 
reference  to  the  manner  in  which  the  thing  was 
done.  Even  allow  that  the  primary  meaning  in 
the  classics  is  to  dip  (which  I  do  not,  I  contend 
and  assert  that  its  main  meaning  in  the  classics  is 
to  wash),  then  we  are  not  to  be  held  to  the  pri- 
mary meaning,  for  this  was  not  the  rule  which 
governed  the  Apostles.      I  will  give  you  an  ex- 


268  SERMONS. 

ample  or  two  to  show  that  the  primary  meaning 
of  words  was  departed  from.  "  Except  a  man 
be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,"  &c. — John, 
iii,  5.  The  primary  meaning  of  the  original  word 
used  here  for  spirit — pneurna — is  wind.  "  For  the 
Sadducees  say  that  there  is  no  resurrection,  neither 
angel,  nor  spirit."  Pneuma — the  primary  mean- 
ing of  which  is  wind — is  here  again  used  for  spirit. 
Nomas  originally  meant  a  song — soon  became  to 
mean  a  law,  because  the  first  laws  of  all  nations, 
according  to  Plato,  were  written  in  verse.  In 
view  of  these  facts  and  in  view  of  the  use  we  have 
shown  that  the  Apostles  made  of  this  word,  no 
matter  what  the  primary  meaning,  it  does  not 
mean  immerse  every  time,  for  we  have  shown 
that  it  has  been  used  in  connection  with  baptisms 
where  there  was  no  immersion.  Again,  if  this 
word  so  clearly  means  immerse,  why  change  it — 
why  translate  it  baptize  ? 

Finally,  our  own  reason  convinces  us  that  the 
mode  is  not  essential.  If  the  mode  was  essential, 
Christ,  who  was  so  particular— even  gave  a  form 
of  prayer — certainly  would  not  have  left  it  an 
open  question.  Again,  it  is  impossible  to  prac- 
tice immersion  in  some  latitudes,  and  with  the 
sick,  and  it  is  unreasonable  because  it  involves 
the  Baptists  in  unreasonable  and  absurd  posi- 
tions. We  have  not  time  now  to  go  over  the 
whole  ground,  and  we  propose  to  deliver  another 
discourse  on  the  subject  of  baptism. 


BAPTISM. SERMON  2.  269 


§ajrttew. — jformott  2. 


"  One  Lord,  one  Faith,  one  Baptism." — Ephesians,  iv,  5. 


In  the  preceding  discourse  we  discussed  the 
mode  of  baptism.  I  propose  in  this  to  show  who 
are  proper  subjects  of  baptism.  The  main  issue 
we  approach  at  once,  which  is  infant  baptism — 
Pedobaptists  affirming  that  they  are  proper  sub- 
jects of  baptism,  and  Baptists  denying  that  they 
are.  In  maintaining  the  title  of  infants  to  bap- 
tism, I  shall  offer  arguments  drawn  from  only  two 
sources  :  From  the  Scriptures,  and  from  reason. 
I  leave  out  the  argument  from  the  Fathers,  as 
I  have  not  time  to  notice  all. 

First,  we  propose  to  show  from  the  Scriptures, 
clearly  and  conclusively,  that  infants  are  proper 
subjects  of  baptism.  Right  here  we  are  asked  to 
show  a  positive  command  that  children  shall  be 
baptized,  "a  thus  saith  the  Lord,  for  it."  We 
shall  do  that  or  its  equivalent  before  we  have  r?n- 
ished  this  branch  of  the  argument ;  but  allow 
that  we  could  not,  then  infants  ought  to  be  bap- 
tized until  the  Baptists  can  show  a  positive  com- 
mand that  they  should  not.  Infants  were  taken 
into  the  Church  by  the  positive  injunction  and 
command  of  God  in  the  old  dispensation,  in  the 
covenant  made  to   Abraham   and   renewed  and 


270  SERMONS. 

confirmed  to  Moses,  and  fulfilled  and  completed 
by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ;  these  covenants  are 
all  one,  the  Church  is  all  one,  both  in  the  old  dis- 
pensation and  the  new.  Xow,  I  say  it  devolves 
upon  the  Baptists  to  show  when  and  where,  and 
by  whom,  infants  were  put  out  of  the  Church  of 
God.  Who  did  this  but  the  Baptists?  Who 
had  authority  to  do  it  ?  It  was  not  done  by 
Christ,  I  am  sure,  for  He  took  them  in  His  arms 
and  blessed  them,  and  said,  ''Suffer  little  children 
to  come  unto  me  for  of  such  is  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven."  The  Baptists  say  they  shall  not  go  ; 
that  they  are  not  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven 
— the  Church.  It  was  not  done  by  the  Apostles, 
for  they  said  the  promise  is  unto  you  and  your 
children,  and  if  so,  they  ought  to  be  baptized. 
But  this  is  the  way  that  those  who  are  opposed 
to  infant  baptism  meet  the  issue  :  they  say  that 
the  Jewish  Church  and  the  Christian  Church  are 
not  one,  that  Christ  instituted  a  new  Church,  and 
that  the  Jewish  Church  was  only  intended  to  last 
until  the  coming  of  Christ.  They  do  not  like  to 
take  this  position  I  know,  but  they  are  driven  to 
it,  or  they  feel  and  know  that  they  are  compelled 
to  admit  infant  baptism.  I  want  to  state  the 
issue  fairly  and  distinctly.  G-od  forbid  that  I 
should  endeavor  to  carry  any  point  by  inuendo 
or  trick.  We  affirm  that  the  Jewish  Church 
under    the   old   dispensation,   and    the    Christian 


BAPTISM. SERMON  2.  271 

Church  under  the  new  dispensation,  are  the  same 
Church.  The  Baptists  deny  this.  If  we  can 
maintain  this  position,  then  the  Baptists  must  sur- 
render the  question,  or  show  that  the  children 
have,  by  express  precept,  been  excluded  from  the 
Church  in  the  Christian  dispensation,  for  they 
were  certainly  included  in  the  old. 

Now  let  us  turn  to  Genesis,  xii,  1-7  :  "Now 
the  Lord  had  said  unto  Abram,  Get  thee  out  of 
thy  country,  and  from  thy  kindred,  and  from  thy 
father's  house,  unto  a  land  that  I  will  shew  thee  : 
and  I  will  make  of  thee  a  great  nation,  and  I 
will  bless  thee,  and  make  thy  name  great  ;  and 
thou  shalt  be  a  .blessing :  and  I  will  bless  them 
that  bless  thee,  and  curse  him  that  curseth  thee  : 
and  in  thee  shall  all  families  of  the  earth  be 
blessed.  So  Abram  departed,  as  the  Lord  had 
spoken  unto  him,  and  Lot  went  with  him  :  and 
Abram  was  seventy  and  five  years  old  when  he 
departed  out  of  Haran.  And  Abram  took  Sarai 
his  wife,  and  Lot  his  brother's  son,  and  all  their 
substance  that  they  had  gathered,  and  the  souls 
that  they  had  gotten  in  Haran  ;  and  they  went 
forth  to  go  into  the  land  of  Canaan  ;  and  into  the 
land  of  Canaan  they  came.  And  Abram  passed 
through  the  land  unto  the  place  of  Sichem,  unto 
the  plain  of  Moreh.  And  the  Canaanite  was 
then  in  the  land.  And  the  Lord  appeared 
unto  Abram,  and  said,  Unto  thy  seed  will  I  give 


272  SERMONS. 

this  land  :  and  there  bnilded  he  an  altar  unto  the 
Lord,  who  appeared  unto  him." 

In  G-enesis,  xvii,  1-14,  God  renews  the  cov- 
enant. Read  it — -"And  when  Abrain  was  ninety 
years  old  and  nine,  the  Lord  appeared  to 
Abram,  and  said  unto  him,  I  am  the  Almighty 
God;  walk  before  me,  and  be  thou  perfect.  And 
I  will  make  my  covenant  between  me  and  thee, 
and  will  multiply  thee  exceedingly.  And  Abram 
fell  on  his  face  :  and  God  talked  with  him,  saying, 
As  for  me,  behold,  my  covenant  is  with  thee,  and 
thou  shalt  be  a  father  of  many  nations.  Neither 
shall  thy  name  any  more  be  called  Abram  ;  but 
thy  name  shall  be  Abraham  ;„  for  a  father  of 
many  nations  have  I  made  thee.  And  I  will 
make  thee  exceeding  fruitful,  and  I  will  make  na- 
tions of  thee  ;  and  kings  shall  come  out  of  thee. 
And  I  will  establish  my  covenant  between  me 
and  thee,  and  thy  seed  after  thee,  in  their  gen- 
erations, for  an  everlasting  covenant :  to  be  a 
God  unto  thee,  and  to  thy  seed  after  thee.  And 
I  will  give  unto  thee,  and  to  thy  seed  after  thee, 
the  land  wherein  thou  art  a  stranger,  all  the  land 
of  Canaan,  for  an  everlasting  possession  ;  and  I 
will  be  their  God.  And  God  said  unto  Abra- 
ham, Thou  shalt  keep  my  covenant,  therefore, 
thou,  and  thy  seed  after  thee,  in  their  genera- 
tions. This  is  my  covenant,  which  ye  shall  keep, 
between  me  and  you,  and  thy  seed  after  thee  : 


BAPTISM. SERMON  2.  273 

Every  man-child,  among  you  shall  be  circumcised. 
And  ye  shall  circumcise  the  flesh  of  your  fore- 
skin ;  and  it  shall  be  a  token  of  the  covenant  be- 
twixt me  and  you.  And  he  that  is  eight  days  old 
shall  be  circumcised  among  }Tou,  every  man-child 
in  your  generations,  he  that  is  born  in  the  house, 
or  bought  with  money  of  any  stranger,  which  is 
not  of  th^y  seed.  He  that  is  born  in  thy  house, 
and  he  that  is  bought  with  thy  money,  must  needs 
be  circumcised  :  and  my  covenant  shall  be  in 
your  flesh  for  an  everlasting  covenant.  And  the 
uncircumcised  man-child,  whose  flesh  of  his  fore- 
skin is  not  circumcised,  that  soul  shall  be  cut  off 
from  his  people  ;  he  hath  broken  my  covenant." 

And  in  Genesis,  xxii,  15-18,  he  blesses  him 
again  :  "  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  called  unto 
Abraham  out  of  heaven  the  second  time,  and 
said,  By  myself  have  I  sworn,  saith  the  Lord,  for 
because  thou  hast  done  this  thing,  and  hast  not 
withheld  thy  son,  thine  only  son  :  That  in  bless- 
ing I  will  bless  thee,  and  in  multiplying  I  will 
multiply  thy  seed  as  the  stars  of  the  heaven,  and 
as  the  sand  which  is  upon  the  sea-shore  ;  and 
thy  seed  shall  possess  the  gate  of  his  enemies  ; 
and  in  thy  seed  shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth 
be  blessed  ;  because  thou  hast  obeyed  my  voice." 

Now,  it  is  clear  that  in  this  covenant  children 
were  embraced  ;  this  was  the  institution  of  the 
Church  under  the  old  dispensation.     It  was  re- 

13 


274  SERMONS. 

newed  unto  Moses,  This  will  not  be  disputed. 
Paul  represents  them  as  eating  and  drinking  of 
the  Spiritual  Rock,  which  was  Christ  Jesus : 
"  Moreover,  brethren,  I  would  not  that  ye  should 
be  ignorant,  how  that  all  our  fathers  were  under 
the  cloud,  and  all  passed  through  the  sea  ;  and 
were  all  baptized  unto  Moses  in  the  cloud  and 
in  the  sea  ;  and  did  all  eat  the  same  spiritual 
meat ;  and  did  all  drink  the  same  spiritual 
drink  :  (for  they  drank  of  that  spiritual  Rock 
that  followed  them  :  and  that  Rock  was  Christ.") 
— 1  Cor.,  x,  1-4. 

Stephen  calls  this  same  Church,  "the  Church 
in  the  Wilderness."  It  will  not  be  disputed  that 
this  Church  existed  in  every  age  until  the  coming 
of  Christ.  Well  then,  now,  when  and  where  did 
Christ  destroy  this  Church  and  institute  a  new 
one  ?  The  proof  of  it  cannot  be  produced  ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  proof,  clear  and  explicit,  can  be 
produced  that  He  did  not  destroy  the  old  Church  ; 
that  it  did  not  run  out,  and  that  He  did  not  in- 
stitute a  new  Church.  Paul,  in  his  epistle  to 
the  Galatians,  says,  that  the  Church  which  God 
instituted  with  Abraham,  was  not  destroyed  by 
the  giving  of  the  law  to  Moses  :  "Now  to  Abra- 
ham and  his  seed  were  the  promises  made.  He 
saith  not,  And  to  seeds,  as  of  many  ;  but  as  of 
one,  And  to  thy  seed,  which  is  Christ.  And 
this  I  say,  That  the  covenant,  that  was  confirmed 


BAPTISM. SERMON  2.  275 

before  of  God  in  Christ,  the  law,  which  was  four 
hundred  and  thirty  years  after,  cannot  disannul, 
that  it  should  make  the  promise  of  none  effect. 
For  if  the  inheritance  be  of  the  law,  it  is  no  more 
of  promise  :  but  God  gave  it  to  Abraham  by 
promise.  Wherefore  then  serveth  the  law  ?  It 
was  added  because  of  transgressions,  till  the  seed 
should  come  to  whom  the  promise  was  made  ; 
and  it  was  ordained  b}7  angels  in  the  hand  of  a 
mediator." — Gal.,  iii,  16-19.  Then  he  goes  on 
arguing  to  show  how,  as  the  giving  of  the  law  did 
not  annul  the  covenant,  but  was  a  continuation 
of  it,  so  the  Christian  Church  is  the  fulfillment  of 
the  Abrahamic  covenant,  the  completion  of  the 
Old  Testament  Church  :  "  For  ye  are  all  the 
children  of  God  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus.  For  as 
many  of  you  as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ, 
have  put  on  Christ.  There  is  neither  Jew  nor 
Greek,  there  is  neither  bond  nor  free,  there  is 
neither  male  nor  female  :  for  ye  are  all  one  in 
Christ  Jesus.  And  if  ye  be  Christ's,  then  are 
ye  Abraham's  seed,  and  heirs  according  to  the 
promise."— Gal,  iii,  26-29. 

Can  anything  be  plainer?  Again,  read  in  this 
connection  the  fourth  chapter  of  Romans.  Again, 
Paul  says,  iu  writing  to  the  Ephesians,  ii,  14-16  : 
"For  he  is  our  peace,  who  hath  made  both  one. 
and  hath  broken  down  the  middle  wall  of  parti- 
tion between  us  ;    having  abolished  in  his  flesh 


276  SERMONS. 

the  enmity,  even  the  law  of  commandments  con- 
tained in  ordinances  ;  for  to  make  in  himself  of 
twain  one  new  man,  so  making  peace  ;  and  that 
he  might  reconcile  both  unto  God  in  one  body 
by  the  Cross."  Thus  he  introduces  the  Jewish 
Church  and  the  Christian  Church  all  into  one  ;  the 
rending  of  the  veil  of  the  temple  represented  the 
breaking  down  of  the  wall  of  partition.  Again, 
in  the  same  epistle,  19,  20,  he  says  -n  "  Now, 
therefore,  ye  are  no  more  strangers  and  foreign- 
ers, but  fellow-citizens  with  the  saints,  and  of  the 
household  of  God  ;  and  are  built  upon  the  foun- 
dation of  the  apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus  Christ 
himself  being  the  chief  corner  stone."  All  these 
prove  that  the  "household,"  "the  body,"  "the 
commonwealth,"  are  not  completed  until  the 
Christian  Church  is  constituted.  It  is  repre- 
sented that  the  Jews,  who  accepted  Christ,  did 
not  change  their  Church  relation  when  they  en- 
tered into  the  Christian  Church.  They  merely 
passed  from  the  rudiments,  the  first  principles, 
the  ceremonial  law,  by  embracing  Christ  who 
fulfilled  it.  The  ceremonial  law  was  the  parti- 
tion wall.  The  breaking  down  of  this  wall  was 
simply  an  enlargement  of  this  Church.  The 
Gentiles  are  represented  as  being  afar  off,  aliens, 
strangers,  and  as  being  brought  nigh  and  made 
fellow-citizens  with  the  saints.  As  the  Jews 
never   left  their   Church,   thev  were   never   de- 


BAPTISM. SERMON  2.  277 

prived  of  their  privileges,  and  as  they  had 
their  children  in  the  Church  under  the  old 
dispensation,  they  continued  with  their  chil- 
dren under  the  new.     Who  can  doubt  this  ? 

We  offer  still  further  proof.  Let  Christ 
himself  testify.  Take  his  parable  of  the  la- 
borers in  the  vineyard,  found  in  Matt.  xxi. 
Here  Christ  represents  the  kingdom  of  heaven — 
the  Church  militant  and  triumphant,  which  He 
was  setting  up — as  like  unto  a  vineyard.  The 
householder  plants,  hedges  it,  digs  a  wine-press, 
builds  a  tower,  and  goes  into  a  far  country. 
When  the  time  of  the  fruit  draws  near,  he  sends 
his  servants,  and  the  husbandmen  beat,  and  stone, 
and  kill  him.  He  then  sends  other  servants,  and 
they  do  unto  them  likewise  ;  and,  last,  he  sends 
his  son,  and  they  kill  him.  Who  doubts  but  that 
He  is  teaching  that  the  Church,  which  He  insti- 
tuted with  Abraham,  and  renewed  unto  Moses, 
and  continued  to  the  day  of  Christ,  was  what  was 
represented  by  the  vineyard?  God  planted  it  in 
the  day  of  Abraham,  hedged  it  in  the  wilderness, 
and,  in  the  fullness  of  time,  sent  His  Son  to  bless 
it,  whom  they  wickedly  slew.  Is  any  one  so 
blind  they  cannot  see  that  that  is  what  is  meant  ? 
The  proud,  blind,  wicked  chief  priest  and  Phari- 
sees perceived  it,  for  it  is  said  so  in  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  parable.  When  He  asked  them  what 
ought  to  be  done  to  those  who  had  killed  the 


278  SERMONS. 

servants  and  the  only  son,  they  told  Him  they 
ought  to  be  destroyed  and  the  vineyard  taken 
from  them.  Christ  then  said  unto  them,  "  There- 
fore, I  say  unto  you,  the  kingdom  of  God  (the 
Church)  shall  be  taken  from  you,  and  given  to  a 
nation  (the  Gentiles),  bringing  forth  the  fruits 
thereof." — Matt,  xxi,  43.  Again,  the  Apostle 
writing  to  the  Romans,  xi,  18:  "But  if  thou 
boast,  thou  bearest  not  the  root,  but  the  root 
thee."  The  two  Churches,  according  to  this 
figure  (for  He  speaks  here  of  the  Church),  are  as 
much  one  as  the  root  and  trunk  are  one  in  the 
same  tree.  Again,  "For  if  thou  wert  cut  out  of 
the  olive-tree  which  is  wild  by  nature,  and  wert 
graffed  contrary  to  nature  into  a  good  olive-tree  ; 
how  much  more  shall  these,  which  be  the  natural 
branches,  be  graffed  into  their  own  olive-tree." — 
Rom.  xi,  24. 

Our  Baptist  friends  admit  that  the  Old  Testa- 
ment Church  is  here  meant  ;  and  if  so,  then  it  is 
all  the  same  Church  ;  and  as  children  were  ad- 
mitted into  the  Old  Testament  Church,  they  are 
to  be  admitted  into  the  New  Testament  Church, 
unless  it  can  be  shown  that  they  are  by  express 
precept  excluded.  When  we  are  asked  for  a 
positive  precept  for  the  baptism  of  infants,  we 
reply,  give  us  a  positive  precept  for  the  exclusion 
of  them  from  it.  Here  we  might  stop  the  case  ; 
for  it  is  admitted  that  if  it  is  all  the  same  Church, 


BAPTISM. SERMOX  2.  279 

children  are  now,  as  they  were  of  old,  members 
of  it ;  and,  if  members,  they  ought  to  be  bap- 
tized. 

But  we  go  farther,  to  show  that  children,  being 
members  of  the  Christian  Church,  are  entitled  to 
baptism,  as  children  under  the  old  dispensation 
were  entitled  to  circumcision  by  the  express 
command  of  God.  Now,  I  undertake  to  show 
that  baptism  was  substituted  for  circumcision  ; 
then  that  puts  the  matter  beyond  all  sort  of 
doubt.  Circumcision  was  the  initiatory  rite  into 
the  Jewish  Church.  This  will  not  be  contro- 
verted. Baptism  is  the  initiatory  rite  into  the 
Christian  Church  :  "  Go  teach  all  nations,  bap- 
tizing them,"  &c.  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world, 
preach  my  gospel  to  every  creature,  baptizing 
them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Ghost."  "Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and 
of  the  spirit,"  &c.  "He  that  believeth  and  is 
baptized  shall  be  saved." 

Circumcision  was  a  sign  and  seal  to  God's 
covenant  with  Abraham  in  the  institution  of  the 
Church  under  the  old  dispensation;  baptism  is  the 
sign  and  seal  to  the  same  covenant  fulfilled  in 
Christ.  Can  any  man  doubt  this  ?  ' '  Reasons  for 
becoming  a  Baptist"  admits  that  it  is  a  sign,  and 
now  I  show  that  it  is  a  seal,  and  stands  in  the 
room  of  circumcision — performs,  so  to  speak,  the 
same  function  in  the  Christian  Church  that  cir- 


280  SERMONS. 

cumcision  did  in  the  Jewish  Church.  Here  is  the 
positive  proof,  Col.,  ii,  10-12:  "And  ye  are  com- 
plete in  Him,  which  is  the  head  of  all  principality 
and  power;  in  whcm  also  ye  are  circumcised  with 
Ihe  circumcision  made  without  hands,  in  putting 
off  the  body  of  the  sins  of  the  flesh  by  the  cir- 
cumcision of  Christ ;  buried  with  Him  in  baptism, 
wherein  also  ye  are  risen  with  Him  through  the 
faith  of  the  operation  of  God,  who  hath  raised 
Him  from  the  dead." 

What  is  that?  Hear  it.  Let  the  Apostle  finish 
it.  "Buried  with  Him  in  baptism."  Can  any- 
thing be  clearer?  Then,  again  :  "For  as  many  of 
you  as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ  (received 
Christ's  circumcision — that  is  what  it  means)  have 
put  on  Christ."  If  ye  are  Christ's  by  putting  Him 
on  by  baptism,  which  is  expressly  declared  to  be 
His  circumcision,  then  are  ye  Abraham's  seed  and 
heirs  according  to  the  promise. 

Now,  we  have  shown  that  the  old  and  new  are 
both  the  same  Church,  and  we  have  conclusively 
shown  that  baptism  is  substituted  for  circumcision. 
I  have  now  only  to  show  what  Peter  taught,  to 
make  out  the  case  so  plain  that  it  does  seem  to 
me  astonishing  that  there  ever  should  have  been 
a  mistake.  Peter  plainly  commands  them  to  bap- 
tize their  children,  in  view  of  this  which  I  have 
presented- — that  it  is  all  the  same  Church — that 
circumcision,  the  sign  and  seal  in  the  old  dispen- 


BAPTISM. SERMON  2.  281 

satioii,  was  applied  to  children.  Peter,  enforcing 
the  sign  and  seal  of  the  Christian  Church — the 
substitute  baptism — says,  Acts,  ii,  38,  39:  "Re- 
pent, and  be  baptized  every  one  of  you  in  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  remission  of  sins ; 
and  ye  shall  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
For  the  promise  is  unto  you,  and  to  your  children, 
and  to  all  that  are  afar  off,  even  as  many  as  the 
Lord  our  God  shall  call." 

See  the  striking  similarity  between  the  two.  In 
Genesis  in  the  covenant  made  it  reads  "to  thee 
and  thy  seed,"  and  they  were  circumcised.  Peter 
says,  "to  you  and  your  children,"  and,  no  doubt, 
they  were  baptized. 

In  view  of  all  this,  take  the  commission  the 
Apostles  are  sent  out  with.  They  were  Jews — 
knew  children  were  members  of  the  Jewish 
Church — knew  both  to  be  the  same  Church  and 
baptism  to  be  substituted  in  the  place  of  circum- 
cision. Christ  says  unto  them:  "Go  teach  all 
nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost."  How  would  they 
understand  this?  Would  they  not  understand 
children  to  be  meant  by  all  nations?  Abraham 
was  to  be  the  father  of  many  nations — under  the 
Abrahamic  covenant  children  were  included — 
circumcised ;  and  when  these  nations  of  which  he 
was  father  are  brought  in  and  baptized,  would  not 
the  Apostles  understand  the  children  to  be  inclucl- 

13* 


282  SERMONS. 

eel,  unless  they  were  told  expressly  by  Christ  to 
exclude  children?  I  say,  would  they  not  under- 
stand that  children  were  to  have  the  seal  of  the 
Christian  dispensation  applied  to  them  as  the  seal 
of  the  Jewish  dispensation  was  applied?  Most 
unquestionably  they  would.  No  wonder  Peter 
says:  "Be  baptized  every  one  of  you,  for  the 
promise  is  unto  you  and  your  children."  How 
would  they  understand  it?  Talk  about  a  positive 
precept  to  baptize  children !  Wh}^,  the  Apostles 
never  thought  about  asking  if  children  must  be 
baptized.  Yes,  they  understood  the  children  to 
be  included ;  and  as  they  went  out  teaching,  and 
preaching,  and  baptizing  them,  they  baptized  their 
children  also.  Now,  I  show  you  that  they  did 
this.  I  will  give  you  the  cases.  The  jailor's 
family  were  baptized — "he  and  all  his  house" — 
that  is  the  language.  Lydia  and  her  household — 
her  family — were  baptized.  Crispus  believed  on 
the  Lord  with  all  his  house,  and  they  were  bap- 
tized. The  household  of  Stephanas.  "I  baptized 
also  the  house  of  Stephanas,"  says  Paul.  Cor- 
nelius, with  his  family  and  kinsmen,  was  baptized. 
The  Baptists  say  there  were  no  children  in  these 
families.  How  do  they  know  so  much?  Is  it  not 
a  little  singular  that  there  should  be  no  children 
in  them.  Take  five  families  in  any  neighbor- 
hood, and  we  very  seldom  find  them  without  any 
children. 


BAPTISM. SERMON  2. 


283 


Let  me  sum  up  this  scriptural  argument.  It  is 
all  the  same  Church ;  baptism  is  substituted  as  a 
sign  and  seal  in  the  place  of  circumcision,  and 
the  Apostles  commissioned  and  sent  out  baptizing 
children — whole  families. 

Finally,  I  offer  the  argument  from  reason. 
The  doctrine  of  infant  baptism  is  not  only  taught 
in  the  Scriptures,  and  not  only  shown  to  be  the 
practice  of  the  Apostles  by  the  testimony  of  the 
Fathers,  but  it  accords  with  reason.  It  is  reason- 
able— it  is  not  nonsensical,  as  some  of  our  Bap- 
tist brethren  seem  to  think.  They  are  disposed 
to  ridicule  it— call  it  "  baby  sprinkling."  If  it  is 
unreasonable  to  baptize  children,  it  was  unrea- 
sonable to  circumcise  them.  I  reckon  if  our  Bap- 
tist friends  had  lived  in  that  day,  when  they 
brought  forward  their  children  to  circumcise  them 
by  (rod's  positive  command,  they  would,  with  a 
sneer,  have  called  it  baby  circumcision. 

But  it  is  alleged,  that  it  is  unreasonable  to  bap- 
tize infants,  because  they  cannot  comprehend  its 
nature,  cannot  understand  its  meaning,  and  yet 
these  very  men,  after  sayiug  this,  to  show  off 
what  they  suppose  a  little  wit,  say  that  the  child 
knows  that  it  is  wrong,  for  they  will  cry.  I 
would  not  notice  a  little  thing  of  this  sort,  but  to 
show  the  inconsistency  of  some  men  who  gravely 
state  such  things,  as  preachers  of  the  gospel.  In- 
fants could  no  more  comprehend  circumcision  than 


284  SERMONS. 

they  can  baptism,  yet  it  was  never  deemed  un- 
reasonable, because  God  ordered  it. 

Again,  all  allow,  Baptists  and  all  (except  a  few 
who  have  the  effrontery  to  teach  that  infants  are 
damned,  and  all  such  ought  to  have  a  guardian 
appointed  for  them),  that  infants  dying  in  infancy 
are  saved.  The  question  then  occurs,  how  are 
they  saved  ?  The  reply  is  palpable — they  are 
saved  by  the  blood  of  Christ ;  there  is  no  other 
wajf.  "  There  is  none  other  name  under  Heaven 
given  among  men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved," 
but  the  name  of  Jesus.  His  blood  cleanseth 
from  all  sin.  Very  well,  this  is  the  way  that 
grown  people  are  sav,ed — by  the  atonement  of 
Christ,  by  the  washing  of  regeneration.  There 
are  not  two  ways.  Christ  says,  "  I  am  the  way," 
those  who  climb  up  any  other  way  are  thieves 
and  robbers.  There  is  not  one  way  to  save 
grown  people  and  another  to  save  children.  If 
so,  what  way  is  it  ?  Who  died  for  children  if 
Christ  did  not  ?  when  and  where  ?  Now,  then, 
if  all  are  saved  by  Christ  they  are  saved  in  the 
same  way.  He  is  the  head,  and  all  saved, 
whether  grown  people  or  children,  are  His  mem- 
bers. He  is  the  vine,  and  all  saved,  whether 
grown  people  or  children,  are  His  branches. 
Can  this  be  denied?  Will  any  deny  it?  Then 
if  you  baptize  grown  people  as  a  sign  and  seal  of 
this  union  to  Christ,  and  participation  in  God's 
covenant  fulfilled,   why  not  baptize  children  for 


BAPTISM. SERMON  2.  285 

the  same  reason,  for  they  have  this  union,  and, 
consequently,  the  benefit  of  this  covenant,  for  if 
they  are  united  to  Christ  thus  they  are  members  of 
His  Church,  and  for  this  reason  Christ  said  of 
them,  "  of  such  is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven." 
Will  any  one  pretend  to  allow  even  that  this 
refers  to  the  Kingdom  of  Glory — that  any  adult 
or  infant  can  get  into  Heaven  without  passing- 
through  Christ's  Kingdom  on  earth?  If  so,  then 
it  is  possible  to  be  saved,  independent  of  the 
Church,  and  of  the  atonement,  and  the  means  of 
grace,  instituted  in  connection  therewith,  and  the 
Apostle  is  mistaken  when  He  says,  "As  in  Adam 
all  die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive." 
He  ought  to  have  said,  even  so  in  Christ  all  grown 
people  shall  be  made  alive — children  some  other  way. 

But  it  is  said,  it  is  unreasonable  to  baptize  in- 
fants, because  they  cannot  believe,  and  Christ 
says,  "  He  that  believeth,  and  is  baptized,  shall 
be  saved."  The  same  mode  of  reasoning-  will 
show  that  they  cannot  be  saved,  because  they 
cannot  believe,  for  the  conclusion  of  this  sentence 
is,  "  He  that  believeth  not,  shall  be  damned." 

I  give  below  a  remarkable  passage  from  this  little 
book,  "Reasons  for  becoming  a  Baptist,"  page 
31  :  "But  query — are  infants  the  proper  subjects 
of  the  Kingdom  of  Glory?  If  so,  they  are  holy, 
and  of  course  the  doctrine  of  human  depravity 
cannot  be  true.  But  we  all  believe  that  infants 
are    unholy,   and    as   such    they    are    not  fit  for 


286  SERMONS. 

Heaven,  and  can  no  more  be  admitted  into  that 
holy  place  than  we,  without  a  change  of  heart. 
Therefore  infants,  with  the  nature  with  which  they 
were  born  into  this  world,  are  not  the  proper  sub- 
jects of  the  heavenly  world."  At  the  bottom  of 
the  page  he  gives  the  following  note  :  "  Still  I 
believe  that  all  who  die  in  infancy  are  saved. 
But  not  because  they  are  naturally  holy.  I  trust 
that  through  the  infinite  benevolence  of  G-od,  as 
they  have  never  actually  sinned,  so  the  merits  of 
Jesus  will  be  unconditionally  applied  to  regen- 
erate and  save  them."  How  are  they  saved 
without  faith  ?  The  Apostle  says,  Rom.,  v,  18  : 
"  Therefore,  as  by  the  offence  of  one  judgment 
came  upon  all  men  to  condemnation  ;  even  so  by 
the  righteousness  of  one  the  free  gift  came  upon 
all  men  unto  justification  of  life."  If  they  are 
affected  by  the  fall  of  Adam,  without  a  knowledge 
of  Him,  to  that  extent  they  are  relieved  by  the 
death  of  Christ,  without  a  knowledge  of  Christ. 


®tte  ^vaivtwg  of  ttvtet. 

And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will  draw  all  men  unto  me.' 
John,  xii,  32. 


There  prevailed  in  the  heathen  world  a  theory, 
or  rather  a  fable,  that  the  god  of  the  universe, 
whom  they  called  Jupiter,  had  a  golden  chain, 
which  he  could  at  any  time  let  down  and  draw 


THE  DRAWING  OF  CHRIST.  287 

the  world  and  all  its  inhabitants  to  himself. 
Cowper  gives  this  translation  to  that  passage  in 
the  Iliad  which  refers  to  this  theory,  in  which 
Homer  represents  Jupiter  as  speaking  : 

"  But  if  I,  willing  to  exert  my  power, 
The  earth  itself,  itself  the  sea  and  you, 
Will  lift  with  ease  together,  and  will  wind 
The  chain  around  the  spiry  summit  sharp 
Of  the  Olympian,  that  all  things  upheaved 
Shall  hang  in  the  mid  heaven." 

By  this  chain  they  intended  to  teach  the  con- 
nection between  the  Creator  and  the  creature  — 
the  connection  between  heaven  and  earth — some- 
times termed  the  chain  of  causes  and  effects.  We 
shall  undertake  to  show  to-day  that  this  idea, 
which  obtained  in  the  darkened  mind  of  the 
heathen,  was  not  meaningless.  In  exhibiting 
the  doctrines  of  the  text,  we  shall  undertake  to 
show  that  Christ,  lifted  upon  the  Cross,  is  the 
great  golden  chain  which  draws  the  human  race 
to  Himself,  and,  through  Himself,  binds  them  to 
G-od  the  Father  ;  that  its  golden  links  have  en- 
twined the  heart  of  every  man  born  into  the 
world  ;  that  Christ  lifted  up  is,  so  to  speak,  the 
great  magnet  in  the  spiritual  universe ;  touching 
by  its  influence,  and  turning  the  spirit  of  every 
man  to  G-od,  the  Creator  and  source  of  all  things. 

To  avoid  mistake,  it  is  proper  for  us  first  to 
define  what  is  meant  by  drawing  all  men  unto  Him. 
I  am  aware  that  this  declaration  of  the  Saviour  is 


288  SERMONS. 

used  in  support  of  the  doctrine  of  universal,  uncon- 
ditional salvation  ;  but  if  it  is  made  valuable  in 
support  of  this  theory,  it  seems  to  me  that  its  ad- 
vocates must  put  a  strained  construction  upon  the 
term  draw.  We  understand  that  a  man  may  be 
drawn  to  Christ,  aud  not  irresistibly  drawn  ;  that 
this  drawing  may  be  so  resisted  that  there  are 
those  who  will  not  come  unto  Him  that  they  may 
have  life,  for  there  are  some  who  do  always  resist 
the  Holy  Ghost.  It  is  not  my  purpose,  however, 
to  make  an  argument  upon  this  point ;  but  simply 
to  define  that  the  term  draw  means  to  influence 
all  men  by  His  word  and  spirit ;  and  where  the 
word  has  not  gone,  by  His  spirit  alone,  so  that 
all  who  yield  to  this  influence  secure  to  them- 
selves salvation. 

We  now  start  out  in  our  undertaking  with  this 
proposition,  that  Christ,  lifted  up  upon  the  Cross, 
has  been,  and  is,  and  will  be,  the  great  attraction 
of  all  men.  In  this  undertaking,  we  select,  as  the 
place  for  our  investigation,  the  Cross  ;  as  it  was 
set  up,  not  at  the  beginning,  nor  at  the  ending, 
but  rather  in  the  middle ;.  so  that,  as  far  as  posi- 
tion is  concerned,  our  standpoint  will  be  central. 
Standing  under  the  shadow  of  (he  Cross,  we  have 
only  to  look  backward  into  the  past,  and  forward 
into  the  future,  to  see  that  Christ  crucified  "  is 
the  desire  of  all  nations.."  It  is  important  to  the 
maintenance  of  this  proposition  that  the  doctrine 


THE  DRAWING  OF  CHRIST.  289 

of  (he  universality  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  operation 
and  influence  be  established,  to  show  that  He 
performs  His  office  independent  of  the  preached 
or  written  word.  The  particular  and  peculiar 
relation  which  each  person  in  the  Trinity  sustains 
to  the  plan  of  redemption  is  clearly  defined  in  the 
Scriptures.  The  Father  projected  the  plan,  the 
Son  executed  it,  and  it  is  the  peculiar  office  of  the 
Hoty  Ghost  to  develop  it  upon  us — to  apply  it. 
Without  this  the  whole  plan  would  do  no  good. 
The  first  argument,  therefore,  which  I  now  offer 
to  show  the  universality  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  in- 
fluence, is  drawn  from  the  universality  of  the 
plan.  All  men  are  affected  by  the  fall — all  men 
are  relieved  by  the  crucifixion  ;  the  free  gift 
has  come  upon  all  men  to  justification  ;  where 
sin  abounded,  grace  did  much  more  abound. 
We  infer  from  this  that  the  remedy  is  commen- 
surate with  the  evil  sustained  ;  that  those  who  were 
affected  by  the  fall  of  Adam,  without  a  knowledge 
of  Adam,  might  be,  and  are,  relieved  by  the 
death  of  Christ,  without  a  knowledge  of  Christ. 
Yery  well ;  as  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  great  devel- 
oper— applyer  of  the  plan — and  without  Him 
there  is  no  development  or  application,  we  con- 
clude that  He  operates  upon  the  hearts  of  all 
affected  by  the  fall ;  and  as  all  our  race  are  affect- 
ed by  it,  then  He  operates  upon  all  our  race, 
though  ignorant  of  the  incarnation  of  God.     The 


290  SERMONS. 

point  I  wish  to  make  is  this,  that  every  human 
soul  born  into  the  world  is  drawn  to  him,  not 
irresistibly,  but,  if  yielded  to,  savingly.  Just  so 
far  as  they,  without  their  own  agency  or  know- 
ledge, are  affected  by  Adam's  fall,  they  are  re- 
lieved just  to  the  same  extent  by  Christ's  obe- 
dience and  death,  and  if  they  use  the  best  light 
they  have  and  the  best  means  within  their  reach, 
they  may  ultimately  be  saved.  G-od  does  not 
require  an  impossibility  of  any  man,  and  to 
require  more  of  them  would  be  to  require  an  im- 
possibility of  them  ;  and  this  idea  of  companion- 
ship, of  union  between  man  and  Grocl,  so  universal, 
is  but  the  drawing  of  Christ  by  his  Spirit. 

Aa;am,  all  nations  have  inculcated  the  idea  of 
sacrifice.  The  great  idea  of  pouring  out  blood 
— of  offering  it  in  their  worship — lias  been  upon 
the  mind  and  heart  of  all  nations.  When  flocks 
have  been  offered,  the  choicest  have  been  taken  • 
when  human  sacrifices,  the  same  rule  was  ob- 
served. In  the  Moloch  worship  of  the  Phoeni- 
cians the  choicest  children  of  the  noblest  houses 
were  thrown  into  the  glowing  arms  of  the  idol. 
Among  other  worshippers  the  king  was  often  sac- 
rificed for  the  sins  of  the  people.  Whence  this 
idea  of  human  sacrifice  ?  Cresar  observed  of  the 
human  sacrifices  of  the  G-auls,  that  they  were 
deeply  persuaded  that  only  the  life  of  man  was  a 
fit  redemption  for  man.     Does  there  not  seem  to 


THE  DRAWING  OF  CHRIST.  291 

be  in  this  the  idea  inculcated  by  the  Apostles  that 
the  blood  of  bulls  and  goats  could  not  take  away 
sin?  Again,  in  Greek  tragedy  there  is  a  striking- 
fact  unfolded.  We  see  a  curse  cling  to  a  family 
from  generation  to  generation,  until,  finally,  it  was 
poured  upon  the  least  guilty.  Again,  what  meant 
that  favorite  saying  of  Socrates  that  he  exercised 
still  the  craft  of  his  mother — his  mission  on  earth 
was  the  helping  of  souls  to  a  birth  by  a  helping 
to  a  birth  the  conceptions  which  were  struggling 
there.  Does  this  not  significantly  point  to  that 
saying,  "  Ye  must  be  born  again  ?"  What  meant 
that  motto  written  over  their  temples,  "Know 
thyself?"  What  did  they  design  by  knowing 
one's  self,  but  to  restrain  and  correct  what  was 
wrong  ?  Was  not  this  a  preparation  afar  off  for 
a  higher  motto,  "Repent  ye?"  for  out  of  self- 
knowledge  nothing  but  self-loathing  could  grow. 

Standing  by  the  Cross  and  looking  back  upon 
the  past,  we  have  seen  that  its  attractive  power 
was  felt  by  all  who  preceded  it.  From  that  point 
we  turn  to  the  future,  and  we  see  the  same  attract- 
ive influence  leading  back  the  desires,  and  aspira- 
tions, and  hopes  of  all  who  have  succeeded  it.  Facts 
similar  to  those  noticed  as  exhibited  in  heathen 
worlds  prior  to  the  crucifixion  are  now,  and  have 
been  since  that  period,  exhibited  in  the  history 
of  all  heathen  nations,  and  if  we  had  time  we 
could  particularize — we    could    array   the    facts. 


292  SERMONS. 

The  spirit  of  God  is  upon  the  nations,  drawing 
their  hearts  and  preparing  them  for  an  acceptance 
of  Christ.  Though  the  spirit  of  God,  as  we  have 
shown,  operated  upon  and  moved  the  hearts  of  all 
men  to  Christ,  before  the  general  outpouring  of 
the  spirit,  yet  since  that  time  of  which  Christ 
spoke  when  he  said,  "  It  shall  come  to  pass  in  the 
last  day,  I  will  pour  out  my  spirit  upon  all  flesh," 
the  influences  of  the  spirit  have  been  greater,  and 
clearer,  and  more  intense  than  before.  All  men 
are  drawn  unto  him,  especially  when  the  Gospel 
is  preached.  We  see  that  there  is  a  mysterious 
secret  influence  upon  every  man's  heart,  which 
turns  it  to  Christ  lifted  up,  and  to  those  who  yield 
to  this  drawing  there  is  an  especial  spiritual  pre- 
sentation of  Christ  lifted  upon  the  Cross.  Though 
the  Cross  itself  has  been  taken  down  and  worms 
have  eaten  it,  though  the  grave  in  which  He  lay 
has  been  filled  with  earth  and  sand  by  the  rains 
of  heaven,  yet,  coming  to  Him  for  salvation,  the 
Holy  Spirit  presents  Him  still  on  Calvary's  sum- 
mit to  the  spiritual  eye.  We  see  Him  bend  in 
the  mid-heaven  and  hear  Him  cry. 

It  is  interesting  to  stand  by  the  Cross  and  wit- 
ness its  influence,  its  drawing,  even  in  the  light 
which  we  now  possess  ;  but,  ah !  my  friends,  how 
grand  and  enrapturing  would  be  the  contempla- 
tion if  the  curtain  which  obscures  our  vision  was 
rent  asunder,  if  the  veil  was  torn  off  our  mind 


THE  DRAWING  OF  CHRIST.  293 

arid  we  could  see  it  as  it  is.  We  should  see,  as 
He  hangs  upon  the  Cross,  that  there  is  a  signifi- 
cance in  the  very  outstretching  of  His  arms. 
With  one  hand  we  should  see  Him,  though  pierced 
and  bleeding,  grasping  the  nations  before  the 
flood,  and  with  the  other  taking  hold  of  the  na- 
tions of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  drawing 
them  in  His  dying  embrace  ;  He  holds  them  on  His 
beating,  throbbing,  breaking  heart,  and  cries, 
"Father,  forgive  them."  We  should  see  in  the 
lioiit  of  the  diverging  rays  emanating  from  the 
Cross,  one  part  falling  back  over  the  past  and  the 
other  part  over  the  future  ;  we  should  see  the 
touched  heart  of  the  human  race  'turned  and  point- 
ing to  the  pierced  side  and  streaming  blood  as  the 
centre  of  its  hopes — as  the  needle  pointing  to  the 
pole.  Looking  back  over  the  past,  we  should  see 
the  eye  of  the  old  patriarch,  straining  through 
the  tube  which  the  prophets  presented  to  him, 
fired  with  faith  and  kindled  with  hope  as  he 
catches  a  glimpse  of  the  dying  Saviour.  Then, 
turning  to  the  future,  we  should  see  the  heart  of 
the  modern  saint,  glowing  with  an  assurance  of 
faith  as  the  words  which  dropped  from  His  dying 
lips  fall  upon  his  ear.  Standing  under  the  Cross, 
we  should  see  the  incense  from  off  the  altar  of  the 
heathen  worship  of  antiquity,  meeting,  and  min- 
gling, and  rising  together  with  the  voice  of  prayer 
and  praise  and    thanksgiving  which  come   from 


294  SERMONS. 

the  Gospel  sanctuaries  of  modern  times.  We 
should  see  that  here  the  groans,  and  sighs, 
and  wails  of  earth  meet  and  are  soothed 
and  hushed.  We  should  hear  amidst  the  patter- 
ing of  His  blood,  melody  as  sweet  and  as  soft  as 
angels'  music,  as  through  this  medium  flows  the 
Father's  promises  and  assurances  that  man,  if  he 
will  believe,  shall  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting 
life. 

We  should  then  begin  to  have  some  conception 
of  the  extent  of  His  meaning  when  He  says,  "And 
I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will  draw  all 
men  unto  me."  But  if  we  stopped  here  we  should 
not  know  all  He  means  by  drawing  men  to  Him. 
If  we  would  know  fully  its  import  we  should  take 
a  higher  position,  ascend  with  our  ascended 
Lord,  stand  by  His  side  as  He  intercedes,  and  see 
Him  draw  all  men  to  Him.  He  draws  them 
from  a  fiery  hell  that  skirts  our  world.  Some  re- 
sist, others  yield  ;  He  draws  them — they  come 
to  Calvary,  fall  under  the  shadow  of  His  Cross, 
drop  down  in  death  and  sleep  on  His  arm,  and 
when  the  last  saved  sinner  shall  fall  to  sleep  on 
His  arm  He  will  raise  that  arm  and  fold  them  to 
His  bosom  in  Heaven. 


GIVING  THE  HEART  TO  GOD.  295 


living  flu  §emt  to  ©ol 

(BACCALAUREATE   SERMON  DELIVERED  AT   EMORY   HENRY 

COLLEGE,  VA.,  JUNE  6th,  1869.)— Eds. 

"  My  son,  give  me  thine  heart." — Proverbs,  xxiii,  26. 


I  trust,  young  gentlemen,  that  you  are  come  to 
the  discharge  of  the  obligations  of  this  hour  with 
a  proper  appreciation  of  its  responsibilities. 
That  you  are  here  this  morning,  not  simply  for  an 
exhibition  or  entertainment,  but  whilst  preparing 
for  and  participating  in  the  duties  that  befit  you 
for  the  present  life,  you  stop  to  take  a  lesson  for 
eternity.  Most  fortunate,  indeed,  is  he  who 
comes  to  understand  the  philosophies  of  both 
worlds,  and  arranges  to  honor  the  drafts  made 
upon  him  from  each.  There  is  a  conviction  upon 
every  man's  mind  that  he  is  a  debtor  to  his  Cre- 
ator. That  some  return  should  be  made  for  the 
endowments  and  blessings  bestowed  and  enjoyed. 
The  Pagan  feels  this  as  well  as  he  who  has  the 
revealed  will  of  God ;  the  latter,  however,  only 
rises  to  a  just  conception  of  this  claim,  as  it  is 
impossible  to  know  its  character  unless  God  tell 
us  what  it  is.  All  the  claim  that  God  makes  for 
all  that  He  has  done  for  us,  for  each  of  you — that 
which  will  liquidate  and  pay  in  full  all  demands — 
is  set  forth  in  my  text,  understanding  the  inspired 


296  SERMONS. 

writer  to  speak  for  God:  "  My  son,  give  me  thine 
heart." 

I  waive  all  metaphysical  definitions,  as  they  are 
not  needed  here.  I  follow  the  example  of  the 
great  Teacher  Himself  in  the  use  of  these  terms, 
on  this  occasion,  as  spiritual  truth  is  to  be  taught 
and  not  philosophy  ;  and,  consequently,  I  employ 
them  in  the  sense  in  which  they  are  commonly 
received,  and  not  in  a  technical  sense  ;  and  yet  I 
would  not  intimate  that  there  is  a  conflict  be- 
tween the  two  ;  the  hair-splitting  distinctions  of 
the  one  are  omitted  in  the  other.  The  first  step 
I  take  in  defining  what  is  meant  by  giving  God 
the  heart — -and  I  know  not  better  how  to  do  it — 
is  to  draw  the  distinction  between  giving  the  body 
to  God  and  giving  the  heart,  and  between  giving 
the  intellect  and  giving  the  heart.  Morality  is 
giving  the  body  to  God.  I  use  this  term  in  its 
common  acceptation,  for  in  its  highest  sense  it 
involves  the  state  of  the  heart,  as  no  man  can  be 
said  to  be  thoroughly  moral  whose  heart  is  im- 
pure, however  strict  and  unblamable  his  prac- 
tice. Morality,  as  commonly  understood,  as  re- 
ferring to  the  outward  conformity  to  the  moral 
law,  is  the  bringing  the  body  in  subjection  to  the 
revealed  will  of  God.  He  who  does  not  lie,  but  al- 
ways speaks  truth,  gives  his  tongue  to  God.  He 
who  eats  and  drinks  temperately  gives  his  palajte 
and  stomach  to  God.     He  who  observes  the  Sab- 


GIVING  THE  HEART  TO  GOD.  297 

bath  day  by  resting  from  labor  thereon,  gives 
his  hands  and  muscles  to  God,  and  so  with  any 
member  of  the  body.  This  we  term  physical  reli- 
gion, and  is  its  lowest  form  ;  but,  still,  is  better 
than  none. 

A  man  should  be  moral  if  he  will  not  be  pious. 
It  is  better  for  him  and  better  for  society.  But 
so  far  as  meeting  the  demand  of  God,  it  falls  far 
short  of  it.  "Whosoever  shall  keep  the  whole 
law,  and  yet  offend  in  one  point,  is  guilty  of  all." 

Sell  out,  give  to  the  poor  and  follow  me,  is  only 
another  form  of  demand  for  the  heart.  Again, 
mental  assent  to  the  truth  of  religion,  and  intel- 
lectual admiration  for  it,  constitute  giving  the  in- 
tellect to  God.  The  evidences  of  the  truth  of 
Christianity  are  conclusive,  and  by  their  force, 
compel  mental  assent.  In  addition  to  this,  there 
is  much  in  revealed  religion  which  addresses 
itself  specially  to  the  intellect,  and  excites  intel- 
lectual admiration ;  and  this  admiration  is  often, 
particularly  by  the  educated,  taken  for  the  love 
of  a  regenerated  heart.  I  know  no  mistake  into 
which  educated,  cultivated  minds  are  more  liable 
to  fall,  as  by  culture  the  capacity  to  appreciate 
the  excellencies  and  beauties  of  revealed  truth 
is  increased  and  intensified,  so  that  much  that  is 
altogether  overlooked  by  others  affords  them 
very  high  pleasure  and  satisfaction.  In  this  rev- 
elation from  God  there  is  much  valuable  history 

14 


298  SERMONS. 

nowhere  else  to  be  found.  The  history  of  the 
creation  of  the  world  and  the  origin  of  our  race, 
as  here  recorded  b}r  Moses,  is  the  only  satisfac- 
tory account  any  where  to  be  found  of  these  two 
most  important  events  to  us. 

Theories,  it  is  true,  have  been  written  and 
ingeniously  argued  ;  speculations,  subtle  and 
learned,  have  been  indulged  and  set  forth,  but 
none  of  them  have  proven  to  be  of  much  more 
worth  than  the  old  fabulous  account  given  us  by 
the  classic  heathen.  This,  however,  carries  with 
it  the  air  of  truth  and  authority.  It  is  unlike 
anything  else  of  the  kind.  It  does  not  rust  with 
age,  nor  explode  by  the  touch  of  science.  It 
comes  with  no  flourish,  no  pageant  of  heraldry — 
just  such  a  record  as  we  would  suppose  God 
Almighty  would  dictate. 

No  intelligent  mind  fails  to  be  struck  with  the 
beauty  of  the  style,  the  simplicity  of  the  lan- 
guage employed,  and  the  grandeur  of  the  descrip- 
tion. In  the  first  sentence  of  the  account  there 
is  a  high  compliment  paid  to  man's  intelligence. 
It  seems  to  have  been  presumed  that,  with  the 
brains  God  had  given  him,  with  skies  above  him 
and  earth  beneath  him,  with  mountains  towering, 
and  oceans  booming  around  him,  all  bearing  the 
marks  of  design  and  wisdom,  it  was  not  necessary 
to  tell  him  who  God  was.  These  tell  him  this. 
How  beautifully  and  elegantly  the  history  opens. 


GIVING  THE  HEART  TO  GOD.  299 

"  In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heaven  and 
the  earth."  We  have  there  given  a  plain,  natu- 
ral account  of  the  establishment  of  order  and  law 
in  the  elements  in  and  around  the  globe  ;  and 
lastly,  man,  who  was  placed  over  the  works  of  His 
hands,  endowed  in  a  little  less  degree  only  than 
the  angels.  As  a  historical  account  in  the 
phases  adverted  to,  it  addresses  itself  to  the  intel- 
lect, and  excites  intellectual  admiration.  Then 
we  have  interspersed  all  along  the  finest  speci- 
mens of  history  anywhere  to  be  found.  Take  the 
story  of  Joseph.  We  have  become  so  familiar 
with  it  that  we  often  overlook  its  merit.  That 
story,  stripped  of  its  spiritual  connection  and  sig- 
nificance, would  live  as  a  specimen  of  biographi- 
cal composition  as  long  as  there  is  a  pulsation  of 
humanity  to  beat  responsive  to  the  glowing  and 
life-like  portrait.  As  we  read  it.  giving  reign  to 
our  fancy  and  emotion,  we  are  by  the  power  of 
genius  made  to  live  in  the  midst  of  the  very 
scenes  depicted.  We  find  ourselves  standing  with 
the  boys,  as  they  are  conspiring  to  get  rid  of  the 
envied  brother ;  we  boil  with  indignation  at  their 
baseness  and  meanness — our  indignation  is  turned 
into  grief  when  we  see  the  tear  of  the  tricked 
old  father,  as  he  looks  upon  the  coat  rent  and 
stained  with  blood.  We  follow  Joseph  in  his 
journey  to  his  new  home  and  master  !  Watch 
him  with  feelings  of  intense  interest,  as  the  noble 


300  SERMONS. 

traits  of  his  character  are  developed  under  the 
tests  to  which  he  is  subjected  ;  with  feelings  of 
pride,  contemplate  his  high  position,  won  step  by 
step  by  his  sterling  integrity.  Our  interest  in 
the  story  heightens  as  we  see  his  brethren  coming 
to  his  counter  to  buy  corn.  We  feel,  and  can 
but  sympathize  with  their  perplexity  and  trouble, 
as  they  are  forced  to  return  home  without  Simeon, 
leaving  him  as  a  pledge  of  their  faith.  We  are 
touched  by  the  struggle  of  the  father  between 
famine  and  giving  up  another  son,  the  youngest, 
and  when  he  is  to  be  detained,  Ave  can  hear  Reu- 
ben pleading  with  the  stranger  merchant,  to  take 
him  and  send  Benjamin  back  ;  and  when  at  last 
Joseph  could  endure  it  no  longer,  overpowered 
by  his  emotion,  gives  way,  and  making  himself 
known  to  his  brethren,  falls  upon  the  neck  of 
Benjamin,  and  Benjamin  clasps  him  in  his 
arms,  we,  lost  to  the  present,  find  ourselves  hang- 
ing in  their  embrace,  and  mingling  our  tears  with 
theirs.  And  thus,  on  to  the  end  of  the  history. 
The  style  is  graphic,  life-like,  masterly  in  its  pen- 
cilings  and  paintings.  Take  the  story  of  Ruth. 
Where  is  there  to  be  found  in  all  the  productions 
of  uninspired  genius,  a  biographical  gem  equal  to  it 
in  beauty — so  natural,  such  a  fine  heart  picture  ? 
And  then,  too,  the  eloquence  and  sublimity  of  the 
book  of  Job  is  unsurpassed.  Take  up  the  pro- 
ductions   of  any  or  all    the  ancient  historians — 


GIVING  THE  HEART  TO  GOD.  301 

Herodotus,  Xenophon,  or  any  of  the  Latins ;  or 
those  of  modern  times — Gibbon,  Hume,  Scott, 
Macaulay  or  Bancroft ;  select  their  finest  pas- 
sages, lay  them  side  by  side  with  these  produc- 
tions, and  their  superior  merit,  as  literary  produc- 
tions simply,  becomes  at  once  apparent  to  all 
unbiased  minds.  The  Bible  itself  is  a  sublime 
history — not  of  this  world  nor  of  man,  but  an 
abstract  from  the  history  of  God  ;  not  a  his- 
tory of  God  complete — God  has  other  history, 
written  in  other  volumes  ;  written  in  other 
tongues,  other  dialects  ;  written  long  before  the 
morning  stars  sang  together,  and  the  sons  of  God 
shouted  over  the  splendors  of  this  creation.  This 
simply  delineates  his  relation  to  humanity — 
records  his  dealings  with  man,  and  as  such — as 
one  of  the  volumes  in  the  grand  autobiography  of 
the  Eternal — is  the  most  singular  book  in  the 
world  ;  is  marvellously  magnificent ;  superb  in  its 
splendor  and  excellencies  as  a  history,  and  as  such 
addresses  itself  to  the  intellect  and  excites  intel- 
lectual admiration.  Then  again  we  have  here  the 
finest  poetry.  God  made  David  as  great  a  poet  as 
Milton,  endowed  Isaiah  as  richly  with  genius  as 
Homer  ;  and  these  men-  uninspired,  could  have 
produced  as  good  poetry  as  Milton  or  Homer. 
No  wonder,  then,  David  sang  so  sweetly  when  his 
harp  was  swept  by  the  breath  of  inspiration.  No 
wonder  Isaiah  soared  so  loftily  and  towered  so 


302  SERMONS. 

majestically  as  he  struck  off  in  a  bold  heroic  meas- 
ure the  visions  of  the  future  caught  through  the 
tube  God  put  to  his  eye  when  his  lips  and  heart 
were  filled  with  heavenly  flames.  True,  when 
reaching  the  immortal  epic  of  Milton,  we  take 
bold  wings  and  mount  into  the  regions  of  the  sub- 
lime  ;  but  Israel's  bard,  with  his  divine  afflatus, 
lifts  the  soul  into  an  elysium,  that  seems  to  lie  on 
the  very  borders  of  the  third  Heaven.  True,  all 
the  heroic  is  stirred  within  us  by  the  notes  of  the 
Iliad  ;  but  Isaiah  fans  the  soul  with  an  intellectual 
aspiration  that  leads  it  up,  and  back  on  the  Eternal 
himself.  Then  we  have  the  very  finest  specimens 
of  logic.  Take  Paul's  defence  of  himself  before 
Agrippa.  We  have  given  us  here,  I  take  it,  only 
a  synopsis  of  it;  would  that  we  had  it  in  full. 
He  lays  carefully  his  premises  ;  reminds  the 
king  of  the  writings  of  the  prophets  ;  tells  him 
the  fulfillment  did  not  occur  in  a  corner,  and  then 
comes  on  his  conclusion  with  such  convincing 
effect  that  he  not  only  carries  the  judgment  of 
Agrippa,  but  overwhelms  his  emotional  nature ; 
for  the  time  sweeps  away  his  prejudices,  as  is 
evidenced  by  the  extorted  exclamation :  "Almost 
thou  persuadest  me  to  be  a  Christian."  It  was  a 
grand  spectacle  that,  as  well  as  intellectual  treat, 
as  the  noble  old  orator  stood  forth  in  his  chains, 
emphasizing  with  his  iron-bound  wrists  the  utter- 
ances of  an  unfettered  mind  and  soul  with  such 


GIVIXG  THE  HEART  TO  GOD.  303 

sledge  hammer  logic  as  not  only  put  bis  in- 
nocency  beyond  disputation,  but  came  well  nigh 
setting  up  the  kingdom  of  G-od  in  the  prejudiced 
and  distempered  soul  of  the  prince.  If  it  were 
ever  possible,  this  was  one  of  the  times  when  it 
would  have  been  done  by  might  and  power  of 
human  mind.  Where  in  any  defence  or  forensic 
feat  by  the  astute  and  profound  orators  of  an- 
tiquity or  of  modern  times — of  Burke,  or  Sheri- 
dan, or  Hamilton,  or  Wirt,  or  Webster — is  there 
to  be  found  anything  to  equal  it.  And  then  if 
you  want  logic  in  a  blaze — the  sword  that  cuts  all 
knots,  wreathed  in  flowers,  take  Christ's  Sermon 
on  the  Mount ;  in  which  he  unfolded  the  great 
doctrines  that  underlie  the  faith  and  hope  of  the 
world,  enforcing  them  by  the  power  of  the  most 
conclusive  logic,  adorned  with  all  the  beauties  of 
the  purest  rhetoric.  All  this  poetry,  and  logic, 
and  rhetoric,  addresses  itself  to  the  intellect  and 
excites  intellectual  admiration. 

Again,  the  striking  accord  between  the  two 
revelations  God  has  made  of  Himself — the 
manifestations  of  nature  and  His  written  word 
— addresses  itself  to  the  intellect.  Whether 
we  take  the  pick  and  go  down  into  the  earth, 
or  the  tube  and  sweep  the  heavens,  we  find 
no  fact  revealed  in  the  one  that  contradicts  any 
statement  contained  in  the  other  ;  there  is  perfect 
harmony  and  agreement.     The  same  mystery  too 


304  SERMONS. 

that  invests  the  one  invests  the  other,  and  shows 
a  common  origin.  We  look  upon  the  heaving 
seas,  with  their  currents  and  tides,  binding  with 
these  watery  chains  the  continents  together;  upon 
the  atmosphere,  with  its  circuits  of  winds,  the 
counterpart  of  these  ocean  streams;  upon  the  tow- 
ering mountains,  the  vast  furnaces  of  the  earth's 
internal  fires ;  and  above  us  the  shining  worlds 
that  crown  the  sky  and  deck  the  dark  brow  of 
night;  and  we  see  that  the  same  God  who  stretched 
out  the  heavens  as  a  curtain  and  stationed  all  these 
stars  on  the  front  of  His  throne,  as  sentinels  of  the 
brighter  glory  afar  off;  that  the  same  God  who 
digged  the  pits  of  the  seas  and  filled  them  with 
waves  ;  that  piled  rock  upon  rock  until  these 
mountain  shafts  pierce  the  heavens ;  that  painted 
the  landscape  and  put  the  delicate  tints  upon  the 
lily;  is  the  same  God  who  has  placed  in  our  hands 
this  Eevelation.  His  mystical  impress  upon  the 
one  is  stamped  upon  the  other.  The  one  has  been 
scanned  and  investigated,  and  those  who  have 
gone  farthest  in  these  researches  in  tracing  nature 
through  her  secret  wanderings,  have  come  back 
from  their  explorations  with  the  confession  that 
they  have  merely  gathered  a  few  pebbles  upon  the 
shore,  whilst  the  vast  ocean  of  knowledge  lay  out 
before  them.  So  this  Revelation,  after  it  has 
been  placed  in  the  crucible  of  the  best  brains 
God  ever  put  in  mortal  heads  for  analysis  and 


- 


GIVING  THE  HEART  TO  GOD.  305 

test,  and  after  these  men,  learned  and  profound, 
have  come  to  the  task  of  inquiry  not  only  with 
minds  endowed  naturally,  but  with  minds  illumi- 
nated by  the  spirit  of  God  for  the  task,  in  answer 
to  prayer,  and  after  they  have  pored  over  these 
letters,  and  words,  and  pages,  and  after  they  have 
gone  down  into  the  ruins  of  God's  hidden  treas- 
ures buried  under  these  dead  tongues,  when  their 
utmost  mental  power  has  been  expended,  they 
have  arisen  from  the  exhaustion  of  their  labors 
with   the    exclamation:   "Oh!    the   depth   of  the 
riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God 
lying  beyond  our  grasp."     All  this  excites  intel- 
lectual admiration,  and  our  educated  men  pore 
over  these  things  in  the  libaries,  and  sit  in  our 
sanctuaries,  and  look  upon  these  wonderful  dis- 
plays of  wisdom  and  goodness  as  they  are  unfold- 
ed to  them,  weep  and  cry  over  the  eloquence,  and 
poetry,  and  rhetoric,  and  accord  of  science  with 
revealed   truth,    and   conclude    surely   they   are 
Christians ;  that  they  have  given  their  hearts  to 
God,  they  have  so  much  admiration  for  the  sys- 
tem ;  they  take  connection  with  the  Church  and 
outwardly  conform  to  its  requirements,  submit  to 
its  rites  and  ordinances.     The  whole  drift  of  the 
religious  current  is  in  this  direction  now.     Rest- 
ing in  form  and  admiration — a  decent  exterior — 
the  whole  tendency  of  the  present  age  is  to  ritual- 
ism— to  compromise  with  God,  by  giving  the  body 

14* 


306  SERMONS. 

and  the  intellect.  Whilst  this  may  be  good  as  far 
as  it  goes — good  for  this  life — good  for  society — 
makes  you  genteel,  yet  it  falls  below  the  demand 
God  makes.  God  requires  the  heart.  Here  is 
the  seat  of  His  enemy  and  yours.  The  devil 
erects  his  throne  in  the  heart.  He  governs  the 
body  and  intellect  by  viceroys.  He  rules  in  per- 
son in  the  heart.  In  the  heart  he  holds  his  court. 
Before  the  door  of  the  heart  his  sentinels  pace 
and  keep  guard,  and,  like  a  strong  man  armed, 
keepeth  his  palace  and  goods  in  peace.  He  rules 
in  the  heart,  and  through  the  heart,  the  will, 
the  judgment,  the  intellect,  the  conscience  ;  he 
rules  by  controlling  the  passions,  the  appetites, 
the  lusts.  Now  God,  in  bringing  a  man  in 
subjection  to  himself,  stops  not  until  He  pushes 
His  conquest  into  the  very  citadel.  He  makes 
no  compromise  by  accepting  the  body  or  the 
intellect.  He  comes  to  every  rebellious  son 
with  the  proclamation,  "Give  me  the  heart" — 
nothing  less  ;  the  heart — the  affections.  Who- 
ever has  the  heart  has  all.  God  don't  want 
the  approval  of  your  judgment  accompanied  by 
hatred  of  your  heart  ;  not  conformity  to  His 
rules,  with,  an  internal  antagonism  to  them.  He 
will  form  no  alliance  with  the  devil  in  possess- 
ing and  governing  you.  He  comes  claiming  you 
as  his  subject  enslaved.  He  excites  you  to  revolt 
against  the  usurper  who   sits  enthroned  in  your 


GIVING  THE  HEART  TO  GOD.  307 

affections.  He  comes  as  a  deliverer.  He  promises 
to  aid  by  breaking  his  sceptre,  by  routing  his 
forces.  He  comes  a  deliverer  ;  He  comes,  too, 
with  the  power  of  a  spiritual  resurrection,  for  we 
are  not  only  subjugated  and  enslaved,  but  we  are 
spiritually  dead.  He  touches  the  heart  with  re- 
surrective  power,  raises  it  as  a  dead  corpse,  mys 
aside  its  napkin,  strips  off  its  winding-sheet, 
breathes  a  second  time  into  the  nostrils,  and  the 
first  breath  of  the  resurrected  soul,  the  first  inspi- 
ration, is  the  love  of  God,  that  purifies  the  heart 
and  fits  it  up  as  a  temple  for  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Then  the  mild  sceptre  of  the  Prince  of  Peace  be- 
gins to  wave  over  the  passions,  the  appetites,  the 
desires.  You  then  not  only  admire  God,  but  love 
Him,  and  the  life  you  have  is  the  life  of  God. 
This  is  giving  the  heart  to  God.  I  come  to  urge 
upon  you  compliance  with  the  injunction  of  the 
text  by  the  several  following  reasons  : 

1 .  A  pure  heart,  such  as  God  will  make  of  it,  is 
essential  to  a  clear  perception  of  truth  ;  conse- 
quently, it  is  especially  the  interest  of  every  edu- 
cated person,  whose  avowed  purpose  is  develop- 
ing and  training  his  intellect,  to  be  able  to  dis- 
cover truth  more  readily  and  clearly  in  all  the 
departments  of  learning,  to  comply  with  this  in- 
junction. Christ  is  not  only  the  maker  of  this 
world  and  all  things  in  it,  but  He  is  the  philoso- 
phy of  it — the  reason  for  it.     It  was  no  after- 


308  SERMONS. 

thought  with  God  to  provide  the  atonement.  This 
world  was  not  made  simply  to  reflect  the  sun's 
light,  bear  on  its  bosom  trees,  and  plants,  and 
flowers,  and  fruits.  It  was  made  for  the  grand 
theatre  upon  which  God  should  erect  the  Cross 
and  display  His  love.  Remove  the  Cross,  take 
away  its  light  as  a  solvent  of  the  n^stery  which 
veils  our  existence  here  in  our  diversified  expe- 
riences, and  our  existence  hereafter,  and  the  world 
has  no  significance  whatever.  All  the  philoso- 
phers that  ever  lived  in  it  are  incapable  of  giving 
a  satisfactory  answer  to  themselves  even  why  it 
was  made,  and  can't  tell  what  business  they  or 
any  of  us  have  here  ;  and  all  they  could  get  up 
would  be  only  an  apology  for  being  found  here  at 
all.  Christ,  consequently,  by  the  very  nature  of 
things,  is  the  Truth,  as  he  declares  himself  to  be, 
the  great  Central  Truth,  on  which  all  truth  in 
science  converges,  and  from  which  all  truth  radi- 
ates. Take  them  up.  When  astronomy  comes 
to  be  thoroughly  written  up,  in  full  accordance 
with  the  first  lesson,  will  be  a  recital  of  the  issu- 
ing of  planetary  and  stellar  worlds  from  His 
hands  and  the  arranging  of  them  by  His  power  in 
their  orbits  for  their  grand  circuits;  and  the  closing 
chapter  for  mortals,  doubtless,  will  not  be  the 
account  of  the  discovery  of  some  far  off  twinkling 
planet,  through  human  tubes,  recounting  its  vast 
distances  and  revolutions,  but  an  account  of  the 


GIVING  THE  HEART  TO  GOD.  309 

visitation  of  glorified  saints  to  these  splendid  orbs, 
under  the  lead  of  the  Great  Teacher   Himself, 
tubes   and   calculating  sheets  all  thrown   aside. 
All  this  struggle  of  mind  in  the  world  in  this  de- 
partment ends  in  that,  when  this  science  is  com- 
pleted.   The  first  chapter  in  geology  now  recounts 
the  gathering  of  the  elements  of  the  globe  into  a 
liquid  ball  under  the   power  of  His  voice  ;   the 
concluding   one,    after    reciting    the    process    of 
change  and  development,  giving  a  full  descrip- 
tion, doubtless,  will  be  a  description  of  the  closing- 
epoch   of  the   last  period,    in  which  shall  occur 
its  transformation  into  the  new  earth,  environed 
by  the  new  heaven,  for  the  final  abode  of  the  just 
made   perfect.     Philosophy,  Avhen  completed,  in 
the  final  review  chapter  will  trace,   in  synopsis, 
the  development  and  manifestations  of  mind,  from 
its  germ  in  the  breath   of  God  in   Eden  to  the 
loftiest  expansion  in   the   realms  of  the  eternal 
state.     And  language,  too,  the  art  by  which  mind 
communes    with  mind,    progressing   from  a   few 
names  and  words  to  hundreds  of  dialects  now, 
will,  at  the  last,  end  and  blend  with  the  tongues 
of  angels.     Now  the  carnal  mind — heart — is  at  en- 
mity against  God,  opposed  to  all  truth  that  leads 
on  Christ ;  and  the  point  I  make  is  this  :  in  order 
to  get  the  clearest  perception  of  truth,  the  com- 
pletion of  the  work  you  have  commenced,  and  for 
which  your  course  here,  just  now  finished,  is  cle- 


310  SERMONS. 

signed  to  fit  yon,  it  is  necessary  to  have  a  pure 
heart.  The  heart  governs  the  intellect — guides 
it,  sways  it.  "Asa  man  thinketh  in  his  heart, 
by  his  heart,  so  is  he."  If  the  heart  be  impure, 
its  noxious  vapors,  arising  from  polluted  sense 
and  passion,  stirred  by  its  antagonism  to  truth, 
obscures  the  intellectual  vision,  warps  the  judg- 
ment, clouds  the  mind,  covers  it  with  mists  that 
hinder  perception.  This  is  evidenced  by  exam- 
ples from  some  of  the  most  powerful  intellects. 
Take  the  case  of  Hume — most  highly  gifted, 
learned — colossal  in  mental  power.  In  his  cele- 
brated argument  against  miracles  we  have  all  that 
we  need  for  an  illustration.  He  would  claim  that 
he  was  sincere,  and  it  is  at  least  charitable  to 
allow  it.  How,  then,  are  we  to  account  for  his 
false  syllogism  that  has,  perhaps,  clone  more  to 
damage  the  cause  of  Christ  than  half  of  all  that  has 
been  written  besides  ?  His  mind  was  beclouded 
by  the  impurities  and  prejudices  of  his  heart.  So 
with  the  whole  catalogue  of  skeptical  philoso- 
phers. This  will  also  account  for  the  blindness 
and  blunders  of  those  who  even  acknowledge 
Christ  theoretically  but  deny  him  practically — 
whose  judgment  is  in  favor  of  Christianity,  but 
whose  hearts  are  in  antagonism  to  it.  The  mind, 
connected  with  an  impure  heart,  never  can  act 
with  freedom  untrammeled,  never  can  reach  the 
lofty  heights  and  scan  truth  in  the  departments  of 


GIVING  THE  HEART  TO  GOD.  3  LI 

human  learning  with  that  clearness  of  perception 
that  it  could,  and  would,  with  a  pure  heart. 

The  intellect  needs  the  flame  of  a  pure  heart  to 
weld  the  links  of  the  chain  that  binds  it  to  the 
core  of  the  rock  of  truth.  It  needs  that 'the  Holy 
Spirit  erects  its  throne  in  the  heart  to  govern  it 
• — kindles  its  hearthstone  fires  in  the  chambers  of 
the  passions  to  warm  it ;  it  needs  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  shall  lay  its  fiery,  purifying  hana  on  the 
lusts  of  the  flesh  ;  then  the  heart,  all  aglow  with 
heavenly  flame,  flings  its  softening  and  mellowing 
light  upon  the  intellect,  and  then  the  intellect, 
shooting  its  rays  afar  into,  and  across  the  shad- 
ows that  envelop  science,  grasps  truth  with  an 
energy,  and  clearness,  and  power,  a  little  short 
only  of  inspiration. 

2.  Again,  a  compliance  with  the  injunction  of 
the  text,  is  the  royal  road  to  happiness.  With- 
out purity  of  heart  no  man  can  be  happy — with  it 
all  may  be.  By  training  and  culture  a  man  may 
do  much  to  balance  the  points  in  his  character, 
and  school  himself  into  habits  of  contentment, 
but  no  man  can  be  essentially  happy  whose  con- 
science condemns  him,  when  he  appears  at  its  bar. 
Many  who,  withholding  their  hearts  from  God, 
yet  are  thought  to  be  happy,  are  simply  fugitives 
from  their  consciences,  and  their  only  chance  for 
a  moment's  peace  is  to  keep  clear  of  it ;  then  the 
vast  majority  of  men  are  all  their  lives  skulking 


312  SERMONS. 

and  biding  away  from  it.     Great  mistakes  are 
made  as   to  what   constitutes   happiness.     Poor 
people,  as  they  see  the  rich  reveling  in  luxury, 
living  in  superb  palaces,  climbing  marble  steps, 
sleeping  on  down  and   linen,  sailing  in  coaches, 
attended  by  liveried  servants,  think  if  they  had 
all  these  splendid  things  their  happiness  would  be 
complete.     Whilst  on  the  other  hand  the  rich,  as 
they  pas^  the  cottage  of  the  poor,  with  its  air  of 
contentment,  the  beautiful  vine  twining  above  the 
door,  with  neatness   and  tidiness   within,   would 
give  all  their  wealth  to  possess  what  seems  to 
them  the  quiet   and   happiness    of  that   humble 
home.      People    of    low   estate    think   those   in 
position — in  office   and   power — are  happy  ;  and 
those  in  place  envy  the  happiness  of  those  out  of 
place  ;  the   unlettered  think    that   the    learned, 
and  wise,  and  gifted,  are  happy,  and  they  in  turn 
think  ignorance  is  bliss.     Some  say  of  happiness, 
"  lo  !  here,"  others  say,  "  lo  !  there."     All  these 
are  mistaken.     Every  man  has  the  key  in  his 
hand  that  will  unlock  the  door  of  its  temple.    The 
source  of  happiness  lies  within  every  man  ;  the 
natural  product,  the  fruit  of  a  pure  heart,  is  happi- 
ness.    A  man  who  has  a  pure  heart  cannot  be 
made  essentially  miserable.     His  happiness  does 
not  depend  upon  external  circumstances.     He  is 
not  happy  because  he  is  rich  or  poor,  because  he 
lives  in  a  palace  or  a  cabin,  because  he  is  sick  or 


GIVING  THE  HEART  TO  GOD.  313 

well,  because  he  is  in  life  or  death  ;  but  having  a 
conscience  void  of  offence  towards  God  and  man, 
he  is  at  peace  with  himself.     Every  passion,  and 
appetite,   and  principle   within,   takes    a   tongue 
and  speaks  in  accents  of  peace    to   him.     Quiet 
reigns  within.     When  the  elements  are  all  at  war 
without,    his   sky  overcast   with  cloud,   his  last 
earthly  hope   cut  off,  his  last  dime  gone,  his  last 
friend   proven  false   and  forsaken  him,   he  then 
thanks    God  there    is   one   sacred  spot,  one   hal- 
lowed retreat  into  which  he  can  take  refuge— the 
precincts  of  a  pure  heart.     Here  he  is  safe  and  at 
ease.     The  outer  works  may  be  taken,  the  war- 
ring elements  may  sweep  up  to  the  very  gates  of 
the   heart,   but  the  citadel  remains  intact.     He 
communes  with  himself  and  takes  companionship 
with  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  has  taken  his  heart  for 
a  temple.     He  is  happy  just  like  and  for  the  same 
reason  God  is  happy.     What  makes  God  happy  ? 
Does  anybody  suppose  that  God  is  happy  because 
He  is  rich  in  worlds,   because  angels   cast  their 
crowns  at  His  feet  and  shout  His  praise  in  rap- 
turous applause,  because  intelligent  mortals  kneel 
at  His  footstool  and  adore  and  worship  ?     These 
all  doubtless  add  to  His  glory.     But  the  time  was 
when   none    of  these    existed — when    there   was 
naught   but   God,  as   He  is  the   only  uncreated 
being   or    thing.      Does   anybody   suppose    that 
then  He  was  not  essentially  happy  ?     And  if  all 


314 


SERMONS. 


these  created  intelligences  were  annihilated,  all 
this  vast  universe  blotted  out,  all  these  shining 
worlds  swept  out  of  the  heavens,  all  the  harps  of 
the  angelic  choirs' crushed  ;  does  anyone  suppose 
that  then  God  would  not  be  essentially  happy  ? 
Certainly  not.     Why?     Because   He   is   perfect 
and  pure.     Harmony  reigns  in   His   attributes, 
there  is  accord  in  all  the  elements  of  His  nature,' 
there  is  no  obstruction  or  hindrance  to  the  eternal 
laws  of  His  being,  no  chafing,  no  collision,  no  un- 
rest, no  disquiet  in  the  great  heart  of  the  Eternal. 
The  man  who  has  a  heart  most  like  God's,  most 
nearly  approximates  His  happiness.     Give  the 
heart  to  God  and  He  will  put  it  in  accord  with 
His  own ;  He  will  attune  it  to  the  melody  of  the 
music  of  Heaven. 

3.  Finally,  you  should  yield  compliance  with 
the  injunction  of  the  text,  because  the  highest  as- 
piration of  humanity  is  met  in  God.  The  strong- 
est passion  of  our  nature  is  the  love  of  applause, 
esteem,  approbation.  This  is  seen  as  well  in  the 
first  development  of  childhood,  as  the  little  inno- 
cent throws  his  rattle  on  the  carpet,  and  looks  up 
for  the  applause  of  its  parent,  as  in  the  last  mani- 
festation of  manhood  as  the  stricken  hero  falls 
shrouded  in  battle  flags,  and  covered  with  smoke 
and  dust.  There  is  something  in  us  that  prompts 
us  to  look  out  of  ourselves,  to  live  with  reference 
to  others.     The  highest  earthly  pleasure  enjoyed 


GIVING  THE  HEART  TO  GOD.  315 

by  us  is  the  complacency  we  feel,  from  a  know- 
ledge of  the  esteem  in  which  we  are  held  on  ac- 
count  of  some  good  or  perfection  in  us,   real  or 
imaginary.      This  principle   is  implanted  in  our 
nature.     We  can  no  more  prevent  it  than  we  can 
remove  from  our  eye  its  affinity  for  light.     Grocl 
has   o-iven  it  to  us  for  wise  and  noble  purposes, 
for  a  motive  power  to  action.     The  love  of  glory, 
renown,  applause.     The  love   of  money   is    sec- 
ondary.    Men  love  money  to  secure  the  gratifica- 
tion of   this  passion.     Money  magnifies  them  in 
the  esteem  of  their  fellows.     This  is  what  they 
desire.     I  have  no  quarrel  to  make  with  the  in- 
stinct of  our  nature  when  properly  directed — di- 
rected to  the  proper  object.     There  are  those  in 
the  world  who  allow  it  to  ripen  into  an  unsancti- 
fied  ambition,  which  leads  them  to  trample  upon 
innocency  and  virtue  to  gratify  it,  whose  path  to 
place,  and  power,  and  renown  is  marked  by  fraud, 
and  ashes,  and  blood,  and  tears.     These  deserve 
the  execration  of  mankind.     But  I  have  no  dis- 
position to  tear   the   well-earned  laurel  from  the 
brow  of  any  mortal.     I  do  not  feel  that  that  is  my 
prerogative,   as    it   certainly  would    not   be   my 
pleasure,  if  able  to  do  so,  to  overturn  the  monu- 
ments of  brass  and  marble  erected  to  perpetuate 
the  memory  of  the   triumphs    of  genius.     It  is 
well,  it  is  elevating,  to  act  so  as   to  bring  down 
upon  us  the  plaudits  of  our  race,  if  our  conduct 


316  SERMONS. 

be  ou  a  line  to  secure  the  approbation,  the  re- 
nown, of  heaven.  The  Apostle  tells  us  that  the 
glory  of  man  is  of  some  worth — worth  as  much  as 
the  flower  of  the  grass.  This  has  some  value.  It 
pleases  the  eye,  adorns  the  landscape,  and  distils 
a  drop  of  honey  for  some  toiling  bee.  Let  human 
approbation  be  straight  on  a  line  with  God's  ap- 
proval, then  the  former  will  be  the  flower  and  the 
latter  the  fruit.  The  point  I  make  is  this,  that 
there  is  a  heaven-implanted  principle  within  us  that 
keeps  us  all  the  time  looking  out  for  a  smile,  and 
that  it  is  never  gratified  until  it  meets  the  smile 
of  God.  It  is  this  principle,  passion,  or  instinct, 
that  causes  all  this  restlessness  in  the  world,  this 
running  to  and  fro,  all  this  effort  for  wealth,  and 
place,  and  power,  and  all  this  attempt  to  shine  in 
the  world.  Most  men  do  not  understand  it — do 
not  rightly  interpret  it.  Many  a  man  after  he 
has  toiled,  and  labored,  and  succeeded,  gotten 
great,  praise,  pleasure,  sits  down  in  his  house, 
still  restless,  disgusted,  dissatisfied,  lashes  him- 
self in  his  bed  all  the  night  long,  from  side  to 
side.  If  he  only  knew  what  it  was.  That  it 
was  the  longing  of  the  heart  after  God.  When 
God  cast  us  upon  this  earth  we  rebounded.  He  has 
left  on  us  a  touch  of  heavenly  magnetism  as  we 
issued  from  His  hands,  that  set  us  moving  for 
elevation.  We  begin  earth  with  a  cry,  we  begin 
heaven  with  an  anthem ;  we  commence  acting  in 


GIVING  THE  HEART  TO  GOD.  317 

the  grand  drama  of  life  with  a  toy,  we  begin 
above  with  a  harp  ;  we  open  onr  eyes  below  un- 
der the  smile  of  flesh,  above  under  the  smile  of 
the  Eternal  Spirit,  brighter  than  a  universe  of 
suns.  This  principle,  this  instinct,  this  aspira- 
tion, of  which  I  have  been  speaking,  links  the  two 
spheres  together.  It  connects  the  cry  with  the 
anthem,  the  toy  with  the  harp,  the  smile  of  God 
with  that  of  onr  mother.  It  is  the  golden  clasp 
that  binds  the  heart  of  humanity  with  the  bosom 
of  God.  It  is  the  drawing  of  Christ  which 
springs  from  the  lifting  him  up.  It  gives  hu- 
manity an  upward  tendency,  a  drift  heavenward. 
We  are  away  from  home  in  an  unconquered 
clime,  we  feel  it  constantly.  Nothing  satisfies  us 
long  here.  Like  the  eagle  caught  and  imprisoned, 
with  drooping  wing  and  plaintive  cry  he  gazes 
through  the  bars  of  his  cage  heavenward.  For  a 
time  he  seems  to  be  content,  as  he  satisfies  his 
hunger,  or  listens  to  the  notes  of  some  passing 
bird  ;  then  again,  the  old  instinct  is  aroused  and 
he  lifts  his  cry  again  and  longs  to  cut  his  native 
air  and  go  back  to  his  mountain  crags.  Or,  like 
the  vine  that  intertwines  itself  around  the  tree- 
trunk,  as  it  turns  off  its  beautiful  leaf  and  un- 
folds its  flower  to  catch  the  dewdrop  and  sun- 
light, it  seems  to  be  content,  but  by  and  by  it 
rises  to  the  top  of  the  trunk,  and  there  its  ten- 
drils  are  reaching  above  and  after  some   other 


318  SERMONS. 

object  still  higher,  upon  which  it  may  fasten  and 
lift  itself  up.  So  with  the  human  spirit,  the  im- 
mortal that  is  within  us.  Give  wealth,  place, 
honor,  earthly  pleasure,  and  for  a  time  we  feel 
satisfied,  but  we  soon  extract  from  all  this  the 
power  to  gratify  and  satisfy,  and  then  the  ten- 
drils of  our  hearts,  our  affections,  are  reaching 
out  and  up  for  something  else.  Then  it  is,  if 
with  the  heart  we  can  and  will  only  lay  hold  of 
Christ,  whom  God  has  put  out  from  the  skies, 
fasten  our  affections  upon  Him,  they  can  entwine 
themselves  around  Him  and  rise  higher  and 
higher,  higher  and  higher,  until  the  flower  that 
blooms  on  earth  shall  drop  its  fruit  in  Heaven. 


§Umo£i  ix  ®\\xhtiim. 


"  Almost  thou  persuadest  me  to  he  a  Christian" — Acts,  xxvi,  28. 


Such  is  the  nature  of  the  soul  that  truth  affects 
it  more  powerfully  than  anything  which  is  pre- 
sented to  it.  See  the  effect  produced  on  the 
mind  of  the  student ;  what  excitement  is  raised  in 
the  mind,  as  in  the  solution  of  a  problem  he  ad- 
vances, step  by  step,  to  the  conclusion !  What 
unbounded  excitement  and  admiration  are  pro- 
duced in  the  mind  of  the  philosopher  as  some  new 
truth  is  discovered  in  science !     Who  can  tell  the 


ALMOST  A  CHRISTIAN.  319 

measure  of  the  effect  upon  Newton,  how  his  pulse 
bounded,  as,  watching  in  his  garden  the  fall  of  an 
apple,  the  grand  truth  of  gravity  flashed  upon 
his  mind  ?  So  with  every  man  ;  truth  always  af- 
fects us,  we  are  swayed  by  it,  we  yield  to  it.  In 
proportion  to  its  greatness  will  be  the  effect, 
greater  or  less.  This  influence,  which  truth  ex- 
erts upon  our  souls,  is  accounted  for  in  the  fact 
that  God  is  truth,  and  our  souls  emanate  from 
God;  He  gave  them,  and  hence  is  revealed  to  us 
the  reason  why  truth  lives  and  must  live  forever, 
whilst  error  perishes.  And  herein  is  revealed  to 
us  the  reason  why  the  Gospel  of  the  Son  of  God 
has  not  been  and  can  never  be  crushed  out  of  the 
world. 

These  reflections  are  suggested  by  the  facts 
recorded  in  this  chapter  by  the  Apostles.  Here 
we  have  set  before  us  a  remarkable  instance  of 
the  powerful  effects  of  Gospel  truth.  Agrippa, 
under  its  presentation,  with  all  his  prejudices 
and  antipathies,  was  almost  persuaded  to  em- 
brace it — to  be  a  Christian.  There  are  those  be- 
fore me  this  morning  who  are  almost  persuaded 
to  be  Christians.  To  such  I  shall  address  my- 
self. We  lay  down  this  proposition,  and  shall 
undertake  to  show  its  truth,  that  the  state  of 
that  individual,  who  is  almost  persuaded  to  be  a 
Christian  but  not  altogether,  involves  a  crisis  in 
his  spiritual  history  that  renders  his  condition 
fearfully  dangerous. 


320  SERMONS. 

We  undertake  to  show  first  how  this  state  is 
produced;  and,  doing  so,  the  truth  of  my  proposi- 
tion will  be  in  part  exhibited.  First,  then,  we 
remark  that  the  testimony  which  supports  the 
truth  of  the  revelation  made  through  Christ  is 
such  as  to  induce  a  disposition  on  your  part  to 
accept  Him  as  your  Saviour.  In  the  case  of 
Agrippa  it  was  so.  He  was  born  and  educated 
amongst  the  Jews;  he  was  acquainted  with  the 
teachings  of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures ;  he 
believed  them  ;  and  when  Paul  stood  before 
him,  making  his  defence,  he  so  clearly  exhibited 
to  Agrippa's  mind  Christ  as  the  antitype  of  all 
the  t}rpes  and  shadows  of  the  Jewish  ceremonials. 
so  clearly  set  forth  Christ  as  the  fulfillment  of  the 
prophecies  pointing  to  a  Messiah,  that  Agrippa 
could  not  resist  it.  He  appealed  to  him:  "King 
Agrippa,  believest  thou  the  prophets?  I  know 
that  thou  believest."  He  then  goes  on  to  call  his 
attention  to  the  life  of  Christ,  to  His  miracles,  par- 
ticularly to  His  resurrection.  Why  should  it  be 
thought  a  thing  incredible  ?  Now,  these  same 
proofs  have  produced  a  similar  effect  upon  your 
mind.  They  have  been  presented  to  you,  you 
have  looked  to  them,  examined  them,  and  they 
have  driven  away  the  mists  of  unbelief.  You 
feel  that  no  man  can  examine  these  proofs  im- 
partially, which  support  the  claims  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  without  being  convinced  of  its  truth. 


ALMOST  A  CHRISTIAN.  321 

You  feel  that  these  are  facts  and  circumstances 
connected  with  the  system  which  could  not  exist 
if  religion  were  false;  these  bring  to  the  mind  the 
conviction  as  clearly  as  the  proofs  of  a  problem 
in  mathematics  show  the  rules  to  be  true  by 
which  the  conclusion  is  reached.  And  from  the 
nature  of  the  soul,  of  which  we  have  spoken  in 
setting  out,  the  truth  induces  an  admiration  and 
a  disposition  to  embrace  it.  The  reason,  and  the 
only  reason,  why  any  are  infidels  is  because  they 
have  never  seen  the  great  truth  of  Christianity. 
They  examine  only  the  theories  that  conceal  its 
truth.  An  ignorant  man  does  not  believe  in  as- 
tronomy. Why?  He  has  never  had  unfolded  to 
his  mind  the  great  truth  contained  in  the  science; 
he  is  ignorant  of  its  proofs;  he  knows  nothing  of 
the  calculations  by  which  the  principles  of  the 
science  are  clearly  and  satisfactorily  demonstra- 
ted. By  the  truths  presented  to  your  minds, 
which  sustain  the  claims  of  Christ,  jon  are 
almost  persuaded  to  be  Christians. 

Again,  we  remark  that  the  recital  of  Christian 
experience  in  the  conversion  of  the  soul  has  had 
a  powerful  influence  in  bringing  you  into  your 
present  state  of  mind — almost  persuaded  to  be 
Christians. 

Paul  spoke  out  on  this  occasion  his  experience. 
Told  Agrippa  how  he  was  converted ;  told  him 
that  he  knew  that  he  had  been  a  great  persecutor 

15 


322  SERMONS. 

of  Christians ;  that  at  the  time  of  his  conversion 
he  was  on  his  way  to  Damascus  for  that  purpose. 
"But  at  mid-clay,  oh!  king,  I  saw  a  light  from 
heaven,  above  the  brightness  of  the  sun,  shining 
around  about  me."  He  then  went  on  to  tell  him 
as  near  as  he  could  the  nature  of  the  change 
which  had  taken  place  in  him.  Agrippa  was 
greatly  affected  by  this.  He  knew  Paul  was  not 
a  fool ;  that  he  was  an  educated,  intelligent  man ; 
that  he  was  not  likely  to  be  imposed  upon ;  that 
he  was  honest  in  his  statements.  This  greatly 
moved  and  affected  his  heart.  So  it  is  with  you. 
Your  present  state,  the  strong  disposition  to  be- 
come Christians  Avhich  you  feel,  has  been  greatly 
induced  by  the  recital  of  the  experience  of  those 
in  whom  your  confidence  is  unshaken.  Your 
friend,  your  husband,  your  wife,  your  children, 
stand  up  as  witnesses  before  you.  They  tell  you 
that  they  have  tasted  and  seen  that  the  Lord  is 
good,  that  they  have  peace  with  God,  and  that  it 
takes  away  fear  of  death  and  dread  of  judgment — 
that  there  is  a  power  and  reality  in  the  religion 
of  Jesus — that  they  have  experienced  a  change, 
and  you  see  it  in  their  conversation  and  life;  you 
talked  with  them  before  their  conversion,  you 
knew  what  their  views  and  feelings  were  then — 
they  agreed,  perhaps,  with  you.  Now  they  say 
they  are  changed.  They  have  no  motive  to  be 
untrue  any  more  than  you  have.    You  know  they 


ALMOST  A  CHRISTIAN.  323 

are  honest — the  tear  that  steals  from  their  eye 
tells  you  that  they  are  sincere.  You  do  not  think 
they  can  be  mistaken.  And  coming  in  its  force 
upon  your  soul,  it  has  excited  in  you  a  strong 
disposition  to  try  it  too.  You  are  almost  per- 
suaded to  become  Christians. 

Again,  we  remark  that  this  state  in  which  you 
find  yourself  is  produced  by  the  general  conclu- 
sion which  you  draw  from  these  facts.  You  have 
reasoned  thus  in  your  mind  :  If  the  great  doc- 
trines of  Christianity  be  true;  if  the  way  of  the 
transgressor  is  hard ;  if  the  wicked  are  troubled 
here,  and  pass  away  at  last  from  earth  under  a 
cloud,  with  the  frown  of  God  resting  upon  their 
dying  hour,  and  in  eternity  are  cast  into  hell  fire, 
"where  the  worm  dieth  not  and  the  fire  is  not 
quenched;"  on  the  other  hand,  if  the  good,  the 
righteous,  are  happy  in  life,  triumphant  in  death, 
and  blest  forever  in  the  world  to  come  ;  if  to 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  escape  hell, 
it  is  necessary  to  be  born  again;  if  all  this  be 
true,  and  you  feel  it  is  so,  your  heart  says  it  is 
your  highest  interest  to  become  Christians.  With 
this  general  conclusion  resting  upon  your  mind 
you  are  led  to  undervalue  the  pleasures  derived 
from  the  fashions,,  the  pageant,  the  honors,  the 
wealth  of  the  world,  and  the  great  question  comes 
to  your  heart,  "what  will  it  profit  me  if  I  gain 
the  whole  world  and  lose  my  own  soul?" 


324  SERMONS. 

Again,  we  remark  that  in  addition  to  all  this,  and 
in  connection  with  it,  your  present  state  is  produc- 
ed by  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  "the  light 
that  lighteth  every  man's  mind  that  cometh  into 
the  world."  The  Holy  Spirit  is  persuading  you 
to  become  Christians.  It  is  His  power  that  gives 
strength  to  the  proofs,  that  gives  efficacy  and  in- 
fluence to  Christian  experience,  that  holds  before 
your  spiritual  vision  the  pleasures  of  religion,  and 
at  the  same  time  has  arrayed  before  you  the  emp- 
tiness of  earthly  good  and  the  terrors  of  the  pit. 

God,  the  Hohr  Spirit,  is  standing  at  the  door 
of  thy  heart.  He  is  softly  touching  thy  spirit 
and  awakening  in  your  bosom  that  disposition  you 
feel  to  yield  yourselves  to  Christ. 

Xow,  with  these  influences  bearing  upon  you, 
you  would  immediately  become  Christians  if  there 
were  not  counteracting  influences  at  work.  These 
opposite,  warring  principles  have  produced  your 
present  state.  The  same  devil  that  told  our  first 
parents  that  they  would  not  die,  at  the  very  time 
when  the  proofs  of  religion  are  taking  effect  upon 
you,  is  whispering  doubts  into  your  ear,  infusing 
the  poison  of  unbelief,  making  you  feel  at  times 
that  perhaps,  after  all.  this  change  of  which  the 
Christian  speaks  is  animal  excitement,  enthusi- 
asm. He  insists  upon  it  that  the  pleasures  of  the 
world  at  the  present  are  more  valuable  to  you — 
will  make  you  happier  than  the  pleasures  of  reli- 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  SPIRITUAL  THINGS.  325 

gion.  He  contends  with  the  influences  of  God's 
Spirit,  and  }tou  are  thus  made  undecided — a  fear- 
ful crisis  with  you — trembling  between  God  and 
the  devil,  heaven  and  hell,  on  the  middle  of  the 
beam,  and  soon  you  will  walk  upon  one  end  or 
the  other.  The  great  question  will  soon  be  set- 
tled, and  your  soul  will  be  forever  saved  or  for- 
ever lost.  The  Spirit  of  God  is  now  especially 
poured  out ;  it  is  a  season  of  refreshing,  and  the 
crisis  is  upon  you.  Oh  !  what  a  spectacle  of  in- 
terest you  now  present !  A  night's  decision  may 
now  fix  all  well  for  eternity.  Perhaps  on  these 
few  minutes  hang  the  eternal  destiny  of  your 
soul.  Then  let  me  urge  you  to  be  not  only  al- 
most, but  altogether,  persuaded  to  be  Christians. 


®fo  P^tcrtj  ^f  SSpwitoat  Siting*. 

(FUNERAL  SERMON   OF  CAPT.  JOHN   H.   BOYD,   CO.  "L,"   21st 

REGIMENT  N.  C  TROOPS,  PREACHED  AT  WE.NT- 

WORTH,  N.  C,  OCTOBER  23d,  1861.— Eds.) 

"  For  now  we  see  through  a  glass,  darkly;  but,  then,  face  to  face." — 1 
Cor.,  xiii,  12. 


Man,  in  his  connection  with  scenes  and  objects 
which  surround  him,  and  in  his  relation  to  his 
God,  appears  the  strangest  and  most  mysterious 
of  all  God's  works.     We  look  above  us  in  the 


326  SERMONS. 

scale  of  being  to  the  next  higher  order,  the  an- 
gels, and,  although  our  knowledge  of  them  is  so 
limited  as  scarcely  to  be  called  knowledge  at  all, 
yet  really  there  does  not  appear  so  much  mystery 
overhanging  their  being  and  their  relation  to  God. 
We  look  below  us  to  the  next  lower  order  of  be- 
ings in  the  descending  scale,  and  the  mystery  in- 
vesting their  being  seems  not  half  so  great.  They 
seem  to  be  unconscious,  unintelligent  beings, 
whose  existence  is  confined  to  this  life.  They 
perish  and  pass  away  after  having  served  their 
purpose  here.  Both  of  these  orders  seem  to  be 
in  their  native  element,  fulfilling  the  purpose  for 
which  God  designed  them.  Man  seems  out  of  his 
element,  not  in  his  proper  sphere,  away  from 
home  and  struggling  to  return — his  return  depend- 
ing upon  a  thousand  contingencies.  He  seems 
not  to  belong  to  earth,  and  yet  he  is  not  in  heaven. 
When  wTe  undertake  to  fathom  the  mystery  by 
sight,  or  analyze  it  by  reason,  we  are  confounded 
and  amazed,  and  even  when  we  bring  ourselves 
in  the  light  of  revelation,  "  we  see  through  a  glass 
darkly."  One  of  the  world's  wisest  philosophers, 
after  he  had  reached  the  highest  attainments  of 
learning  and  science,  said  that  he  felt  himself  as 
having  gathered  a  few  pebbles  on  the  shore  whilst 
the  vast  ocean  of  knowledge  was  before. 

We  might  entertain  you  this  morning  perhaps 
— with  how  much  profit  I  would  not  say — by  dis- 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  SPIRITUAL  THINGS.  327 

coursing  upon  the  mystery  which  invests  the 
physical  universe  of  God  ;  by  calling  your  atten- 
tion to  the  obscurity  of  our  vision  in  looking  upon 
the  objects  surrounding  us  in  this  vast  universe  ; 
but  as  I  desire  to  present  purely  a  spiritual  les- 
son, I  shall  endeavor,  in  treating  of  the  mystery 
which  overhangs  our  being,  to  confine  myself  to 
that  which  bears  particularly  upon  our  spiritual 
character  in  our  relation  to  God,  as  this  was 
clearly  the  reference  of  the  Apostle.  For  con- 
venience in  treating  the  subject,  we  have  drawn 
two  propositions  from  the  text,  viz : 

First,  whilst  our  sight  is  obscure  and  limited  in 
time,  yet  it  is  satisfactory  and  sufficient  for  our 
condition  below,  and  renders  us  happy. 

Second,  that  the  clear  vision  which  will  be  re- 
vealed above,  when  we  come  face  to  face  with 
God,  will  fill  the  soul  with  ecstasy  and  glory. 

It  is  not  in  our  power  to  speak  confidently  and 
with  certainty  of  the  character  and  extent  of 
man's  vision  before  the  fall — whether  he  saw 
clearly  or  obscurely.  The  history  of  that  first 
state  is  short,  and  the  description  of  it  vague  and 
meagre  ;  yet  there  seems  to  have  been  something 
grand  and  glorious  in  the  primeval  state.  Man's 
close  and  intimate  connection  with  God,  his  fami- 
liar intercourse  with  heaven,  fills  us  with  wonder 
in  its  contemplation  ;  but  a  veil  is  drawn  over 
Eden  itself — obscurity  covers  it — and  but  little 


328  SERMONS. 

is  left  to  tell  of  her  former  grandeur.  It  is  to  us 
like  the  ruins  of  some  proud  old  city,  whose  monu- 
ments are  crumbled,  whose  arches  are  crushed  ; 
and  all  that  remains  to  tell  of  its  former  glory 
is,  here  and  there  to  be  found  the  head  of  a  statue, 
a  faded  painting,  a  prostrate  column,  or  a  carved 
stone.  Nor  is  it  for  us  to  say  in  how  far  man's 
ignorance  and  blindness  would  have  been  relieved 
by  eating  of  the  tree  of  life,  from  which  he  was 
guarded  by  a  flaming  sword  ;  to  what  extent  his 
knowledge  would  have  been  revived  and  restored 
in  connection  with  his  earthly  immortality,  if  he 
had  been  permitted  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  life  ;  but 
we  know  enough  to  say,  that  after  the  transgres- 
sion he  saw  not  at  all.  When  the  light  of  the  Eter- 
nal Spirit  was  stricken  by  the  stroke  of  G-od's 
power  from  his  soul,  a  cloud  of  midnight  black- 
ness overspread  his  mind  and  heart,  obscured  and 
obstructed  his  spiritual  sight ;  and  had  not  the 
spirit  which  enlightens  every  man's  mind  that 
cometh  into  the  world,  and  a  revelation  from 
God  been  given  him,  it  could  not  be  said  of  us 
to-day  that  we  even  "  see  through  a  glass  darkly." 
As  the  promises  and  prophecies  were  uttered, 
they  sent,  as  it  were,  twilight  rays  athwart  the 
gloom  of  man's  spiritual  sky,  until  the  book  of 
revelations  was  completed  ;  and  since  that  time, 
this  book  has  stood  out  in  the  spiritual  heavens 
like  a  shaded  lamp,  casting  its  light  upon  our 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  SPIRITUAL  THIXGS.  329 

darkened  minds,  and  enabling  ns  to  see  spiritual 
things  as  the  natural  eye  would  behold  natural 
objects  through  a  darkened  glass. 

No  one  has  ever  pretended  that  there  is  no 
mystery  connected  with  spiritual  things.  "  With- 
out controversy,  great  is  the  mystery  of  godli- 
ness." Yet  the  point  we  wish  to  make  is,  that 
we  have  a  sufficient  knowledge  for  us  here.  We 
know  natural  things  only  in  part,  yet  our  know- 
ledge of  them  is  satisfactory.  We  cannot  com- 
prehend the  growth  even  of  a  little  leaf  perfectly, 
yet  we  know  enough  to  satisfy  the  mind  ;  so  with 
spiritual  things  in  our  relation  to  God.  We 
know  God  and  the  relations  we  sustain  to  Him 
only  in  part.  What  a  mystery  invests  His  cha- 
racter!  God!  The  very  biggest  idea  that  can 
be  taken  into  the  mind.  Think  of  His  attributes. 
Man!  how  mysterious  is  his  nature:  his  body 
fashioned  from  clay,  his  spirit  generated  in  the 
breath  of  God.  How  few  words  express  all  that 
we  know  of  God  and  ourselves  ;  and  how  many 
it  would  require,  we  feel,  to  express  all  that  is 
unknown  ?  See  this  relation.  At  first  God  and 
man  were  on  terms  of  intimacy  and  friendship. 
In  an  evil  hour  man  eats  an  apple  forbidden  ;  he 
is  cursed  and  driven  from  Eden — a  strange  curse 
too  was  that,  a  blessing  being  mingled  in  it,  out- 
weighing the  curse.  For  four  thousand  years 
darkness    overspread    the    earth,    sin    abounded 

15* 


330  SERMONS. 

more  and  more,  crimes  of  the  deepest  dye  pol- 
luted and  corrupted  all  forms  of  society,  and  cried 
aloud  to  heaven,  until  at  length  God  poured  upon 
the  earth  a  deluge  of  water  to  wash  it  of  its  pollu- 
tion. After  the  lapse  of  about  four  thousand  years, 
one  night,  in  a  little  town  of  Juclea,  an  infant  was 
born  under  most  remarkable  circumstances. 
There  was  nothing  singular  in  his  appearance, 
nothing  unusual  in  his  birth  ;  it  was  rather  an 
odd  place  to  open  his  mortal  eye  upon  the  light 
of  this  earth  ;  very  lowly,  in  a  manger — the 
house  of  cattle.  There  was  a  press  and  crowd  in 
town  that  night,  and  not  one  half  dozen  knew  or 
suspected  any  significance  in  that  event.  As 
the}T  passed  by  they  thought  it  a  queer  place  to 
be  born  in,  and,  no  doubt,  thought  it  was  some 
poor  outcast  ;  and  yet  it  seemed  that  God  had  to 
lay  His  hand  upon  heaven  to  restrain  it.  The 
heralds  commissioned  and  sent  to  announce  the 
fact,  did  not  simply  proclaim  a  Saviour  born  in 
Bethlehem,  but  poured  out  their  angel  hearts 
in  a  burst  of  joy  :  "  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest ; 
on  earth  peace,  and  good  will  to  man."  As 
the  strange,  unearthly  shout  ringing  on  the 
night  air  falls  upon  the  ear  of  the  shepherds,  they 
start  up  amazed,  abandon  their  flocks  to  re- 
peat  the  story  of  their  visit.  A  sensation  was 
produced  for  the  time  which  reached  even  the 
King,  and  caused  him  to  perpetrate  the  meanest 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  SPIRITUAL  THINGS.  331 

and  most  cowardly  act  that  is  recorded  anywhere 
on  the  pages  of  the  world's  history.  There  is 
nothing  comparable  to  the  meanness  of  slaying 
thousands  of  helpless,  innocent  children  to  reach 
one  more  innocent  than  all.  But  the  sensation 
dies  out,  things  become  quiet,  he  is  lost  sight  of, 
grows  up  in  years  like  others,  works  with  his 
father  at  his  trade.  When  twelve  years  of  age 
he  happens  to  be  in  the  temple,  and  takes  a  turn 
at  disputation  with  the  lawyers  and  doctors,  con- 
futes and  confounds  them,  but  is  carried  away  by 
his  parents,  and  nothing  more  is  heard  from  him 
until  the  Preacher  of  Repentance,  clothed  with 
camel's  hair,  and  feeding  on  locusts  and  wild 
honey,  began  to  cry  in  the  wilderness,  "  Prepare 
the  way  of  the  Lord,  and  make  his  paths  straight," 
there  is  coming  after  me  one  the  latchet  of  whose 
shoes  I  am  not  worthy  to  unloose.  He  was  washed 
at  Jordan  for  the  priestly  office,  instead  of  at  the 
door  of  the  temple,  went  up  and  down  through  the 
country  teaching  and  doing  wonderful  things.  He 
finally  yields  to  be  roughly  handled,  and  is  put 
to  death.  There  is  nothing  remarkable  or  myste- 
rious in  putting  a  human  being  to  death,  but  it  is 
strange  that  just  as  He  dies  the  earth  trembles, 
and  for  three  hours  darkness  shrouded  the  world, 
and  the  whole  heavens  put  on  the  drapery  of 
mourning.  Oh!  'tis  mysterious,  this  dying  of  the 
Son  of  G-od  !     It  thrills  the  universe.     Hear  him 


332  SERMONS. 

cry,  "  My  G-od,  my  God,  why  liast  thou  forsaken 
me  ?" 

"  Hark  how  he  groans,  while  nature  shakes, 
And  earth's  strong  pillars  bend; 
The  temple's  veil  in  sunder  breaks, 
The  solid  marbles  rend/' 

His  dying  wail  will  reverberate  through,  the 
coming  centuries,  down  to  the  last  syllable  of  re- 
corded time.  It  was  an  hour  of  contest,  an  hour 
of  trial.  The  hopes  of  a  cursed  race,  a  perishing 
world,  and  the  promises  of  the  offended  Lawgiver, 
lay  in  the  balances.  When  he  hung  upon  the 
Cross,  with  one  hand  He  took  hold  upon  the  throne 
of  God,  and  bared  His  side  to  His  sword  of  justice, 
and  with  the  other  He  grasped  man  and  rung  His 
plaintive  cry  in  the  ear  of  God,  and  amidst  the 
thunder  of  God's  wrath  and  the  wail  of  man?s 
supplication  He  dropped  His  head  on  His  bosom 
and  died.  What  unfathomable  mystery  in  all 
this,  and  how  darkly  in  the  light  of  God's  reve- 
lation do  we  see  it.  How  mysterious  the  great 
connection  given  us  to  Christ  through  His  death, 
and  through  Christ  to  God.  He  is  the  vine  and 
we  are  the  branches.  The  obscurity  which  covers 
this  has  given  rise  to  infidelic  ridicule.  The  infi- 
del in  a  spirit  of  ridicule  says,  "that  God  fell  out 
with  man  just  because  he  tasted  an  apple,  and 
would  not  be  reconciled  until  He  wreaked  His  ven- 
geance upon  His  own  Son,  when  He  immediately 
got  over  His  passion,  and  was  willing  to  make 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  SPIRITUAL  THIXGS.  3oo 

friends  with  man.17  Why  is  this  misrepresenta- 
tion ?  They  do  not  even  see  it  darkly,  urged  on 
by  a  spirit  of  malice.  "  The  natural  man  dis- 
cerneth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God." 
The  regenerated  man  sees  that  God  being  just,  the 
penalty  of  His  violated  law  must  be  borne,  and 
God  tells  him  in  His  word  that  the  arrangement 
was  made  through  His  son,  and  that  now  He  can  be 
just,  and  yet  justify  those  that  believe  on  His  Son; 
and  though  he  sees  it  darkly,  cannot  fully  under- 
stand the  precise  nature  of  the  satisfaction,  can- 
not see  how  it  is  that  blood  which  ran  down  from 
this  victim  over  eighteen  hundred  years  ago 
should  avail  for  him,  yet  he  can  understand  that 
when  he  approaches  God  in  the  name  of  Christ, 
when  he  pleads  that  blood,  when  he  catches  up 
His  death  cry  in  his  lips  and  repeats  it,  looking 
toward  Heaven — the  clamors  of  his  conscience 
are  hushed,  his  trouble  passes  awa}',  he  becomes 
quiet,  feels  pleasant,  an  answer  of  peace  is  given 
to  his  disturbed  heart  as  clear  and  as  satisfactory 
as  if  an  angel  stood  out  in  the  heavens,  crying  to 
the  elements  of  his  agitated  bosom,  "Peace,  be 
still."  How  it  is  that  the  strongman  armed  keep- 
ing his  palace  is  cast  out,  and  Christ  takes  up  his 
abode  in  his  soul ;  how  his  soul,  torn,  and  bruised, 
and  polluted,  becomes  so  refined  as  to  reflect  the 
image  of  Christ — how  he  is  able  to  crucify  his 
flesh,  and  control  his  appetites  and  passions  ;  how 


334  SERMONS. 

the  great  Comforter,  the  Holy  Spirit,  testifies  with 
his  spirit,  warms  his  bosom  and  cheers  his  heart, 
are  all  mysterious — he  sees  them  darkly,  yet  sat- 
isfactorily. His  knowledge  is  as  satisfactory,  and 
he  may  and  does  rely  upon  it  as  confidently,  as  he 
does  upon  his  knowledge  of  any  physical  fact. 

Again,  obscurity  covers  the  means  of  grace 
instituted  of  God  by  which  this  connection  is  pre- 
served. Fasting,  and  prayer,  and  alms-giving, 
and  visiting  the  sick,  and  those  in  prison  •  and 
the  sacraments — baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper, 
for  these  are  means  of  grace  as  well  as  signs  and 
seals — how  these  influence  his  connection  with 
God,  he  sees  darkly.  Take  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  for  instance.  The  table  is  spread, 
the  prayer  of  faith  consecrates  the  symbols  of  the 
broken  body  and  shed  blood  of  Jesus.  What 
good,  asks  infidelity,  does  a  little  bread  and  wine 
do  ?  It  sees  it  not  at  all.  How  the  good  is  done 
the  Christian  may  not  be  enabled  clearly  to  see, 
yet  if  he  stays  away  he  feels  that  his  heart  grows 
harder,  his  hope  of  Heaven  becomes  weaker,  and 
through  the  promptings  of  the  Spirit,  he  comes  to 
the  table  weak,  and  feeling  unworthy  even  wet- 
ting the  railings  of  the  altar  with  his  tears,  bow- 
ing, he  receives  the  emblems  of  bread  and  wine, 
and  though  he  sees  the  connection  between  the 
two  darkly,  yet  he  feels  that  Christ's  words  are 
true — "I  am  with  you,"  and  bless  God  !  when  he 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  SPIRITUAL  THINGS.  335 

keeps  the  commandment  of  Christ  he  feels  better 
by  it,  As  he  turns  away  and  bows  at  his  seat 
in  prayer,  the  hidden  manna,  like  the  clews  of 
heaven,  seems  to  have  been  distilled  softly  in  his 
soul,  and  he  is  all  melted  down  in  tenderness,  and 
repentance,  and  faith. 

His  connection  with  the  death  and  resur- 
rection of  Christ  is  also  mysterious  to  him. 
When  his  setting  sun  is  casting  its  scattered  rays 
feebly  o'er  his  path,  when  his  sands  are  all  well 
nigh  run  out,  when  the  shadows  of  the  dark 
valley  are  falling  upon  his  soul,  how  it  is  that 
then  the  death  of  Jesus,  which  occurred  eighteen 
centuries  ago,  can  influence  his  death  ;  how  it  is 
that  the  echo  of  the  earthquake  that  proclaimed 
His  power,  whe"n  He  got  up  and  walked  out  of 
Joseph's  new  tomb,  has  crept  over  the  bosom  of 
interlapsing  centuries,  and  is  heard  resounding 
in  his  own  grave,  silencing  and  putting  to  awe 
the  powers  of  death  ami  the  tomb  ;  how  the 
strong  grasp  with  which  He  wrenched  the  bars  of 
death  and  the  manacles  which  he  cast  around 
Him,  as  He  struggled  up  victoriously  from  that 
tomb,  so  pulled  out  the  sting  of  the  great  mon- 
ster, that  he  can  only  lie  now  in  his  own  grave 
and  hiss  without  power  to  harm  ;  how  the  words 
which  Jesus  spoke  to  Mary  on  that  morning,  as 
she  was  stooping  down  over  His  sepulchre,  pour- 
ing her  tears  into  it,  strangely  affects  his  heart — 


336  SERMONS. 

is  all  mysterious  to  him  ;  lie  sees  all  this  darkly  ; 
yet,  as  the  shadows  rising  from  the  grave  are 
cast  upon  his  soul,  and  the  ground  begins  to 
sound  hollow  under  his  feet,  there  is  something 
within  him  that  cheers  his  heart — that  seems  to 
say  in  familiar  tones,  "  Fear  not,  it  is  I."  "  Be- 
cause I  live,  yon  shall  live  also."  "lam  the  re- 
surrection and  the  life."  And  riding  above  his 
last  enemy,  in  the  power  of  Christ's  might,  he 
catches  up  the  victorious  shout  of  the  Apostle  : 
"  Thanks  be  unto  God.  who  giveth  us  the  victory 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

Since  God  has  been  pleased  to  make  a  revela- 
tion to  man,  it  is  asked  why  did  he  not  unfold 
fully  to  man's  understanding  a  clear  perception 
of  all  these  things  ?  Two  reasons  will  be  suffi- 
cient to  meet  fully  this  inquiry.  Had  he  re- 
moved all  mystery  there  would  have  been  no 
such  thing  as  faith.  Faith  is  "the  evidence  of 
things  not  seen."  The  grand  cardinal  feature  in 
the  great  scheme  of  redemption  would  thus  have 
been  destroyed  ;  man's  free  agency  would  have 
been  interrupted  if  He  had  put  him  to  walking 
by  sight ;  and  a  new  plan  of  atonement  would 
necessarily  have  to  be  provided.  The  second 
reply  is,  that  God  could  not  explain  the  mystery 
which  overhangs  man's  beino;  without  un veiling 
eternity,  and  this  would  be  in  effect  equal  to 
annihilating  time  by  introducing  eternity  into  it. 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  SPIRITUAL  THINGS.  33*7 

Has  not  a  train  of  thought  started  in  the  mind ; 
the  idea  was  at  first  clear,  we  pursued  it  step  by 
step,  degree  by  degree,  until  it  passed  out  of  our 
reach,  connecting  itself  with  a  principle  which 
was  beyond  our  comprehension,  and  we  stopped, 
utterly  incapable  of  tracing  it  further.  What 
is  this  but  catching  up  the  train  of  thought 
connected  with  things  we  know  in  part,  lying- 
in  time,  and  pursuing  it  until  it  connects  with 
those  things  wdiich  we  know  not  till  we  know  as 
we  are  known,  till  "we  see  face  to  face?''  The 
view  we  are  holding  up  may  be  illustrated  by 
the  flight  of  a  swift-winged  eagle  that  mounts 
up  before  us  ;  as  he  spreads  his  wings  and 
bends  his  pinions  he  appears  a  majestic  bird, 
standing  out  on  the  air.  We  follow  him  in  his 
bold  flight  as  he  shoots  up;  gradually  he  lessens 
in  bulk  till  naught  is  seen  but  the  glitter  of  the 
sunlight  upon  his  wing7  and  his  scream  faintly 
falls  upon  the  ear  to  tell  us  that  he  has  passed 
into  another  element.  Now,  does  it  not  seem 
best  and  wisest  to  shed  upon  man's  relation  to 
God  just  as  much  light  as  is  necessary  to  meet 
his  wants  here  whilst  in  a  state  of  probation,  and 
then  for  a  full  and  thorough  revelation  take  him 
to  eternity,  where  he  can  see  face  to  face? 

We  come,  finally,  to  briefly  notice  the  second 
proposition,  that  when  we  see  clearly  face  to 
face  it  will   fill   us  with  ecstasy  and  glory.     It 


338  SERMONS. 

does  not  require  much  to  be  said  on  this 
proposition.  As  we  have  been  examining  the 
nature  of  our  vision  here,  we  have  in  imagina- 
tion caught  glimpses  of  the  effect  of  the  nature 
of  our  vision  hereafter.  All  along;;  in  the  ex- 
animation,  eternity,  which  lies  just  beyond  the 
limit  of  time,  has  seemed  a  great,  magnificent 
palace — time  its  outer  porch.  Standing  by  the 
door — the  grave — that  leads  into  its  courts,  as 
one  after  another  passes,  we  almost  catch  from 
the  pallid  lip  the  music  that  echoes  from  its  walls, 
and  from  the  death-struck  eye  the  light  that 
flashes  in  its  halls.  After  a  while  the  messenger 
will  come  to  invite  us  to  enter;  then  "face  to 
face"  we  shall  see.  Think  of  it!  Think  of  the 
time  when  these  eyes  that  have  wept  shall  open 
in  heaven;  when  the  melody  of  heaven  shall  first 
fall  upon  these  ears.  How  sweet,  who  can  tell! 
When  these  hands  that  have  so  often  ached  shall 
strike  the  first  note  on  the  harp  given  us.  Think 
of  it!  Seeing  "face  to  face."  Think  of  seeing 
an  angel,  touching  his  golden  wing,  hearing  him 
sing,  handling  his  harp,  seeing  him  fly.  Think  of 
seeing  Jesus  face  to  face.  God  face  to  face.  Oh! 
my  God,  how  true  it  is  that  "eye  hath  not  seen, 
nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart 
of  man,  the  things  which  God  hath  prepared  for 
them  that  love  Him." 


GLORYING  IN  THE  CROSS.  339 


^tovjjMjj  iu  the  (Stow. 

(ORIGINALLY  PUBLISHED  IN  THE  "METHODTST  PULPIT 

SOUTH."— Eds.) 

1  But  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the  Cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus 

Christ."— Gal.  vi,  14. 


There  is  an  expression  similar  to  this  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Philippians.  The  Apostle,  writ- 
ing to  them  on  the  same  subject,  closes  one  of  his 
arguments  with  the  declaration:  "Yea,  doubtless, 
and  I  count  all  things  but  loss  for  the  excellency 
of  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus,  my  Lord." 
We  are  liable  to  mistake  the  sense  of  the  Apostle 
in  the  use  of  these  strong  expressions,  unless  we 
use  some  care  to  ascertain  his  true  meaning. 
We  are  not  to  understand  him  that,  abstractly 
considered,  he  regarded  everything  as  worthless. 
By  no  means.  His  history  and  writings  show 
that  he  placed  a  proper  estimate  upon  the  neces- 
saries and  conveniences  of  life;  that  he  valued 
highly  his  friendships  ;  that  he  prized  learning 
and  everything  calculated  to  enhance  our  happi- 
ness here;  but  when  any  or  all  of  these  were  com- 
pared with  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of 
Christ,  or  contrasted  with  the  benefits  of  the 
Cross  of  the  Redeemer,  they  dwindled  into  in- 
significance. 

In  meeting  the  obligations  of  this  hour  we  pro- 


340  SERMONS. 

pose  taking  np  the  theme  of  the  Apostle,  and 
shall  undertake  to  present  the  Cross  of  Christ  in 
its  power,  and  attractiveness,  and  blessing,  as  the 
object  above  all  others  which  demands  the  highest 
place  in  the  affections  of  every  man.  In  doing  so 
we  shall  also  endeavor  to  follow  the  spirit  of  the 
text  by  contrasting  the  Cross  with  the  objects 
connected  with  and  limited  to  this  life,  which 
constitute  the  chief  glory  of  a  large  majority  of 
our  race. 

Though  happiness  is  the  end  proposed  by  each, 
no  matter  what  may  be  the  occupation  or  profes- 
sion, or  if  none  at  all,  yet  it  is  a  melancholy  truth 
that  the  vast  majority  of  mankind  are  in  the  road 
that  leads  directly  from  its  attainment.  Deluded 
by  sin,  they  are  following  the  dictates  of  their 
carnal  appetites,  and  as  they  are  cursed  and 
thrown  into  confusion,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  they 
are  unsafe  guides,  and  in  the  end  will  prove  ruin- 
ous to  their  hopes ;  for  under  their  influence  they 
form  attachments  to  things  which  soon  perish  and 
pass  away.  Thus  the  million  bow  at  the  shrine  of 
wealth,  glory  in  gain,  thinking  it  will  confer  hap- 
piness. Money  is  the  great  Diana  now.  Money 
is  the  watchword  by  which  the  sentinels  are 
passed  to  positions  of  honor,  trust  and  emolu- 
ment. If  there  is  ever  a  time  when  Mammon 
holds  more  undisputed  sway  than  at  another,  that 
time  is  the  present.     Individuals  of  every  class, 


GLORYING  IN  THE  CROSS.  341 

and  grade,  and  profession,  and  sex,  almost,  are 
brought  under  its  influence,  so  as  to  be  swayed 
by  it  to  a  greater  or  less  extent.  The  ruling  sen- 
timent of  the  age  seems  to  be  that  money-getting 
should  constitute  the  chief  concern  of  life.  What 
a  strange  infatuation !  An  individual  may  bend 
all  his  energies  in  the  pursuit  of  wealth,  and  at 
last  become  disappointed  in  its  acquisition.  How 
blank  and  terribly  embarrassing  must  his  condi- 
tion be,  who,  after  consecrating  his  time,  and 
talent,  and  physical  energies,  at  the  shrine  of 
Mammon,  is  despised  and  rejected  by  his  G-od! 
But  allow  that  he  is  successful,  how  easily  do 
riches  "make  themselves  wings"  and  fly  away! 
Grant  even  that  he  is  not  only  successful,  but  re- 
tains his  wealth,  how  poor,  how  wretchedly  des- 
titute— aye,  we  would  repeat,  if  thereby  we  can 
make  it  more  emphatic,  how  wretchedly  destitute  is 
he  who  comes  down  to  the  grave,  at  the  close  of  his 
earthly  career,  possessed  with  no  other  treasure 
than  his  world's  goods!  Out  of  all  his  vast  pos- 
sessions he  can  use  only  enough  to  buy  a  wooden 
box  or  metallic  case;  then,  dressed  in  his  best  suit 
of  clothes,  he  is  wrapped  in  a  linen  sheet  and  hid 
from  the  gaze  of  his  fellows.  This  little  even  he 
cannot  carry  with  him  through  the  grave ;  for, 
mingling  with  his  dust,  when  his  body  is  called 
away  by  the  trump  of  Grod,  it  stays  behind  as  fuel 
in  the  general  conflagration  of  all  things.    Wealth 


342  SERMONS. 

is  proper  enough,  sought  and  obtained  and  used 
properly,  but  should  not  hold  the  highest  place 
in  the  affections  of  any. 

Under  the  influence  of  the  same  appetites,  an- 
other class  glories  in  fame.  Catching  up  the  roll, 
and  running  over  the  names  of  renowned  warriors, 
and  statesmen,  and  philosophers,  and  poets,  and 
orators,  and  scholars,  an  intense  desire  prompts 
them  to  write  theirs  on  the  shining  list.  The  as- 
pirations of  many  do  not  rise,  perhaps,  so  high  as 
this,  but  the  principle  is  the  same  in  all ;  fame  is 
their  god.  We  have  found  some  of  this  class  who 
did  not  enjoy  more  than  a  neighborhood  notoriety 
as  devout  worshippers  at  its  shrine  as  was  ever 
Wellington  or  Napoleon.  What  is  fame?  A 
bubble  that  glitters  awhile  in  the  sunlight,  then 
bursts  and  is  gone  forever  !  It  dies  away  like  the 
"voices  of  morning  bells  on  the  air."  If  we 
would  know  its  worth,  let  us  turn  the  pages  of  the 
past.  W^e  read  of  one  Amnion's  son,  who  came 
forth  in  the  majesty  of  his  strength  ;  the  smoke 
and  dust  roll  into  the  heavens  from  the  wheels  of 
his  triumphal  car  as  he  sweeps  the  plains  of  Tyre 
and  Gaza,  Phoenicia  and  Egypt.  We  are  awe- 
struck and  amazed  as  we  see  him  stopping  at  the 
temple  of  Jupiter  Amnion,  and,  by  a  mysterious 
rite  of  his  own  invention,  lay  aside  his  humanity 
and  assume  divinity.  On  he  shoots,  like  a  thun- 
derbolt, through  Persia  and  India,  successive  vie- 


GLORYING  IN  THE  CROSS.  343 

tories  marking  his  bloody  way,  until  he  stands 
upon  the  sea  shore,  weeping  for  more  worlds  to 
conquer. 

And,  after  all,  the  pretended  god  died  drunk  in 
Babylon  ! 

We  read  also  of  the  Carthagenian  general  and 
Roman  usurper  ;  the  one,  after  a  splendid  career, 
perishing  by  his  own  hand ;  the  other,  in  the  act 
of  consummating  his  highest  hope,  falling  by  the 
hand  of  the  assassin. 

Coming  on  down  to  later  times,  the  ear  is  salu- 
ted with  "  Vive  I 'Empereur  /"  Not  a  breath  stirs 
but  is  loaded  with  praise  to  the  Corsican  lieuten- 
ant. His  sun  scarcely  clears  the  horizon  ere  it 
is  blazing  in  its  meridian.  All  Europe  is  lighted 
up  by  the  splendor  of  his  genius,  and  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  holds  his  breath  in  terror  as  he  sees  the 
thrones  of"  his  neighbors,  hallowed  b}r  the  sacred 
memories  of  ages,  crumbling  to  dust  beneath  the 
giant  tread  of  the  man  of  destiny.  Yet  his  sun 
went  down  as  suddenly  in  cloud  and  darkness  as 
it  had  arisen  in  brilliancy  and  hope.  He  died  in 
banishment  and  bonds,  an  outcast ! 

In  these  examples  is  seen  the  worth  of  fame, 
when  enjoyed  in  its  greatest  measure.  They  have 
a  name  renowned,  but  it  is  cursed  by  humanity. 
They  are  remembered,  and  are  immortal ;  so  is 
the  plague.  Could  we  call  their  ghosts  from  the 
spirit  land,  and  take  their  testimony  as  to  the 


344  SERMONS. 

value  of  fame,  as  they  should  stand  before  us 
wrapped  in  the  vestments  of  the  dark  world  they 
inhabit,  with  souls  well  scorched  with  unquench- 
able fires,  we  venture  that  testimony  would  be 
this  :  "All  the  glory  of  man  is  as  the  flower  of 
grass." 

Under  the  same  influence  another  class  glories 
in  pleasure.  What  an  ephemeral  flower  is  world- 
ly pleasure!  Truly,  it  is  "but  for  a  season." 
When  passed,  it  always  leaves  an  "aching  void" 
behind,  and  often,  even  in  its  enjoyment  the  cup 
of  bliss  is  broken  upon  our  lips,  and  by  a  single 
thought  our  pleasures  die. 

These  three— wealth,  fame,  pleasure — consti- 
tute, as  some  one  has  said,  the  world's  trinity. 
These  are  the  objects  in  which  worldly-minded  men 
glory.  Your  observation  and  experience  will 
witness  whether  we  have  correctly  represented 
them  ;  if  so,  we  would  have  you  carry  the  estima- 
tion in  which  they  are  now  held  with  you,  whilst 
we  hold  up  the  Cross  of  Christ  and  invite  you  to 
look  upon  it ;  and  we  trust  that  when  our  reflec- 
tions are  ended  we  shall  all  be  prepared  to  join 
the  Apostle  in  the  prayer  of  the  text. 

The  first  feature  in  the  Cross — of  course  the 
doctrines  of  the  Cross  are  meant ;  the  merit  of  the 
victim,  and  not  the  instrument  itself — which  we 
present,  is  its  elevating  influence  upon  individuals 
and  nations. 


GLORYING  IN  THE  CROSS.  345 

Man,  since  the  fall,  has  had  a  downward  ten- 
dency. The  promptings  of  his  fallen  nature,  as 
already  intimated,  lead  him  into  inconceivable  dif- 
ficulty and  trouble.  Every  step  he  takes  in- 
creases the  distance  between  himself  and  his  God, 
and  tends  to  consummate  his  humiliation  and 
abasement.  The  Cross  counteracts  this  influence. 
It  calls  to  him  ;  tells  him  of  his  noble  birth  ;  points 
him  to  his  high  destiny  ;  exhorts  him  to  retrace 
his  steps.  In  a  word,  it  elevates  him  morally, 
mentally,  socially,  and  exalts  him  to  a  high  and 
holy  communion  with  his  God.  Turn  to  a  page 
in  your  observation,  and  you  see  this  truth  illus- 
trated. Do  you  not  remember  to  have  seen  a 
wayward  son  leaving  his  father's  house,  or  the 
bosom  of  his  owu  family,  frequenting  the  haunts 
of  vice  and  dissipation  ;  descending,  step  by  step, 
until  he  reached  the  lowest  depths  of  poverty, 
shame  and  disgrace  ?  Just  as,  in  his  abandon- 
ment and  wretchedness,  he  was  chasing  from  his 
heart  the  last  lingering  symptom  of  good  feeling, 
cursing  away  the  influence  of  a  pious  mother's 
prayers,  which  tarried  with  him  when  all  things 
else  had  well  nigh  departed — you  saw  some  mes- 
senger of  the  Cross  take  him  gently  by  the  arm 
and  whisper  in  his  ear  a  word  of  hope  and  recov- 
ery. He  told  him  there  was  yet  a  chance  for 
him  ;  bade  him  rise,  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  and  be 
a  man.     He  started  up,  resolved  to  make  one  last 

16 


346  SERMONS. 

effort  to  return.  He  threw  his  eye,  as  directed, 
upon  the  Cross.  His  strength  increased.  At  last 
he  reached  forth  his  hand,  trembling  from  de- 
bauch, and  grasped  it ;  and  in  a  moment  he  stood 
erect.  Soundness  was  restored  to  him  ;  a  new 
song  was  put  into  his  mouth — ' '  Even  praise  unto 
our  God  " — decent  clothes  were  substituted  for 
his  tattered  garments,  and,  a  devout  worshipper, 
he  came  to  occupy  a  place  in  the  sanctuary  of 
God,  and  was  introduced  again  into  society,  a 
worthy,  respectable  citizen.  Though  all  this  oc- 
curred years  ago,  yet,  as  you  visit  him  in  his  com- 
fortable, happy  home,  kneel  with  him  at  the  sa- 
cramental table,  and  lift  your  voice  with  his  in  the 
song  of  praise,  you  now,  more  confidently  than 
then,  expect  to  meet  him  in  heaven.  This  is  but 
one  instance  of  the  thousands  that  are  occurring 
all  over  Christendom  iii  which  the  power  of  the 
Cross  transforms  cruel  tyrants  into  affectionate 
husbands,  rebellious  children  into  obedient  sons, 
drunken  sots  into  intelligent  citizens,  and  fiends 
almost  into  pious  saints. 

The  elevating  influence  which  the  Cross  exerts 
upon  individuals  it  also  exerts  upon  communi- 
ties and  nations.  When  the  love  of  Christ  con- 
straineth  not  a  people,  corrupt  passion  becomes 
their  guide  in  all  things.  Thus  they  become  in- 
volved in  the  same  evil  consequences,  find  the 
same  degradation,  to  which  the  individual  is  re- 


GLORYING  IN  THE  CROSS.  347 

duced.  The  Gospel,  from  its  peculiar  self-per- 
petuating principle,  prompts  its  votaries  to  un- 
dertake in  their  behalf.  Soon  we  see  the  mis- 
sionary tearing  himself — for  he  loves  as  we  do — 
from  the  embrace  of  home  and  country,  embark- 
ing upon  the  "dark  blue  sea,'7  and  under  the  pro- 
tection of  that  God  who  put  it  into  his  heart 
to  go,  he  sets  his  foot  in  safety  upon  heathen 
soil.  He  erects  the  Cross,  flings  to  the  breeze 
his  banner,  stained  all  over  with  precious  blood, 
then  kindly  approaches  the  deluded  worshipper, 
as  he  is  bowed  before  his  dumb  idol,  tells  him  of 
the  one  true  and  living  God,  whom  alone  he  is  to 
worship  ;  tells  him  that  all  his  fellows  are  his 
brethren,  descended  from  the  same  stock,  sub- 
ject to  the  same  ills  and  sorrows,  and  heirs  of 
the  same  promises  and  hopes  ;  tells  him  of  man's 
fallen  state,  assures  him  of  the  remedy  ;  bids 
him  look  upon  the  Cross  and  rise  to  a  higher  life. 
The  idolator's  heart,  touched  by  the  Holy  Spirit 
that  "  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the 
world,"  turns  to  that  Cross  as  the  needle  to  the 
pole,  and  quitting  his  senseless  worship,  he  con- 
secrates himself  to  the  service  of  the  most  high 
God.  One  after  another  follows  his  example.  A 
new  and  glorious  era  begins  to  dawn  upon  that 
people,  as  the  "  day-spring  from  on  high"  throws 
His  light  across  their  spiritual  sky.  As  they 
begin  the   work  of  cultivating  true  morality  and 


348  SERMONS. 

religion,  they  commence  remodelling  their  laws  ; 
they  begin  in  earnest  the  culture  of  the  arts  and 
sciences.  The  work  of  civilization  goes  on  under 
the  appliances  of  the  Gospel,  until  in  commerce, 
in  science,  in  laws,  the  new  born  nation  takes  her 
position  side  by  side  with  the  enlightened  nations 
of  the  earth. 

One  ray,  emanating  from  the  Cross,  has  kissed 
the  black,  hideous  cheek  of  Africa,  and  has 
thrown  a  smile  over  the  face  of  that  dark,  be- 
nighted land.  The  little  republic  sitting  upon 
the  sea-shore,  reflecting  its  borrowed  light, 
heightens  the  hope  inspired  by  the  Prophet,  that 
"Ethiopia  shall  soon  stretch  out  her  hands  unto 
G-od,"  and  that  the  songs  of  Zion,  with  their 
accompaniments,  the  ploughman's  merry  laugh, 
and  the  rattle  of  the  steam  car,  shall  resound  in 
the  jungle,  where  now  is  only  heard  the  yell  of 
the  savage,  the  hiss  of  the  serpent,  and  the  roar 
of  the  lion. 

If  we  would  witness  the  most  wonderful  dis- 
play of  the  elevating  influence  of  the  Cross,  na- 
tionally, we  have  only  to  turn  to  our  own  repub- 
lic. What  has  given  us  the  proud  and  enviable 
elevation  as  a  nation  which  we  enjoy  ?  What 
constitutes  us  the  free  and  happy  people  we  are  ? 
The  response  comes  from  millions  of  happy  lips, 
that  it  is  the  inculcation  and  practice  of  the  great 
doctrines    of   Christianity — justice,    equality,    and 


GLORYING  IN  THE  CROSS.  349 

fraternity.  The  late  distinguished  Calhoun,  in 
his  "  Disquisition  on  Government,"  teaches  that 
men  are  influenced  by  only  two  principles  in  their 
actions — selfishness  and  benevolence,  or  self-in- 
terest and  the  interest  they  feel  in  others.  That 
selfishness  being  much  stronger  than  benevo- 
lence, the  end  of  all  proper  legislation  is  to  check 
the  former  and  promote  the  latter.  If  benevo- 
lence were  the  stronger  principle,  then  it  would  be 
necessary  to  reverse  legislation,  so  as  to  promote 
selfishness  and  check  benevolence.  That  gov- 
ernment, therefore,  he  alleges,  which  produces 
by  its  legislative  enactments  an  equilibrium  be- 
tween these  two  principles,  compelling  each  of  its 
subjects  to  act  with  as  much  regard  for  the  inter- 
ests of  others  as  his  own,  is  a  perfect  govern- 
ment. Now,  in  following  the  great  statesman  to 
his  conclusion,  and  endeavoring  as  a  nation  to 
carry  out  the  doctrine  taught  in  all  our  legisla- 
tion, where  do  we  find  ourselves  standing  ?  Upon 
the  second  great  commandment  of  Christ,  "Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  This  is  the 
secret  of  our  success  in  all  our  struggles  to  be 
free,  and  to  rise  to  a  commanding  position  as  a 
people.  This  is  the  sap  to  the  tree  of  liberty, 
which  causes  it  to  strike  its  roots  deep  into  the 
soil,  and  throw  out  its  great  arms,  covered  with 
evidences  of  health  and  substantial  growth.  The 
doctrines  of  the  Gospel  have  not  only  elevated 


350  SERMONS. 

us,  but  they  preserve  us  iu  our  elevation  and 
progress.  The  corner  stone  of  our  republic  rests 
securely  beneath  the  rage  of  party  strifes  and  fa- 
naticism, not  because  it  was  laid  with  pomp,  or  is 
guarded  with  bristling  bayonets,  but  because  it 
was  laid  with  prayers  and  tears  upon  the  Cross 
of  Christ.  But  recently  we  have  had  an  exem- 
plification of  our  true  preservative  principle. 
When,  a  few  years  ago,  that  dark  cloud  gath- 
ered in  our  political  atmosphere,  flinging  its 
black  shadows  over  the  whole  land,  threatening 
in  its  fury,  if  ungirted,  to  tear  in  shreds  our  flag, 
and  rend  in  fragments  our  glorious  Union,  what 
was  it  but  the  honesty,  the  Christian  integrity  of 
the  masses,  the  pure  G-ospel  temper  and  spirit  of 
the  convocations  of  the  people,  North  and  South, 
that  sounded  the  knell  to  demagogues  and  fanat- 
ics ?  Remove  from  our  nation  the  influence  of 
the  Cross,  and  there  are  now  exciting  causes 
abroad  that  would  make  our  rivers  run  red  with 
blood,  and  bleach  our  plains  with  the  bones  of 
our  bravest  and  best  citizens. 

The  truth  of  the  position  we  have  assumed  is 
more  strikingly  manifest  by  contrasting  our  con- 
dition with  that  of  unfortunate,  downtrodden 
France.  God  has  blessed  France  with  the  ele- 
ments of  a  great  nation — she  has  the  physical 
element  ;  she  has  the  intellectual  element ;  she 
has  bravery  and  courage  enough  for  anything  : 


GLORYING  IN  THE  CROSS.  351 

but  she  lacks  the  religious  element ;  she  is  cursed 
with  infidelity  ;  and  on  this  account  her  masses 
are  ignorant  and  enslaved  ;  and,  as  a  general 
thing,  she  has  to  keep  them  abroad,  murdering  her 
neighbors,  to  prevent  them  from  butchering  each 
other  at  home.  Let  a  pure  Christianity  be  given 
to  the  French,  and  they  would  soon  break  their 
chains  and  put  themselves  upon  the  platform  upon 
which  we  now  stand.  We  should  glory,  therefore, 
in  the  Cross,  on  account  of  its  elevating  influence. 
Again,  we  should  glory  in  the  Cross,  because 
it  is  the  manifestation  of  a  peculiar  exercise  of  power 
by  God  in  meeting  the  wants  of  our  spiritual  nature. 
The  Apostle  calls  the  crucifixion  of  Christ  "  The 
power  of  G-od."     It  has  been  truly  said  : 

"  'Twas  great  to  speak  the  world  from  naught, 
'Twas  greater  to  redeem." 

It  required  an  exercise  of  power  altogether 
different  in  the  one  case  from  that  exerted  in  the 
other.  In  the  act  of  creation,  G-od  spread  out 
the  heavens  as  a  curtain  ;  He  digged  out  the  pit  of 
the  sea  and  filled  it  with  waves  ;  He  piled  mound 
upon  mound,  and  rock  upon  rock,  until  the  moun- 
tains pierced  the  clouds,  but  all  this  was  done  by 
the  strength  of  His  voice.  "  He  spake,  and  it  was 
done,  He  commanded,  and  it  stood  fast."  When 
man  even  stood  before  Him,  fashioned  from  the 
clay,  He  simply  breathed  upon  him,  and  he  began 
to  live  ;  but  when  by  his  disobedience,  he  sunk 


352  SERMONS. 

down  into  spiritual  death,  God  could  not,  without 
an  infraction  of  His  justice,  breathe  him  again  to 
life.  Though  God  could  flino-  from  His  fingers  a 
blazing  sun,  and  send  him  shining  and  sparkling 
on  his  path  ;  though  He  could  by  the  strength  of 
His  voice  crown  the  sky  with  shining  worlds,  and 
by  a  wave  of  His  hand  pencil  their  orbits  through 
space  ;  yet  it  was  not  enough  that  He  sit  upon  His 
throne  and  point  out  the  way  of  redemption.  If 
there  was  a  way,  it  was  necessary  that  God  Him- 
self come  down  and  press  the  path  with  His  own 
feet.  This  He  did.  Christ  said,  when  upon 
earth,  "He  that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the 
Father.' '  Coming  thus  in  person,  when  He  had 
thoroughly  explained,  taught,  and  enforced  his 
doctrines,  He  submitted  to  be  lifted  upon  the  Cross. 
Then  it  was  that  He  brought  into  exercise  His 
omnipotence,  in  bearing  '"our  sins  in  His  own 
body  on  the  tree/'  When  he  cried  "  My  God  ! 
My  God  !  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?"  such  was 
the  effort  put  forth  by  Him,  that  the  influence  of 
the  act  was  felt  co-extensive  with  His  very  exist- 
ence. God  was  touched,  and  through  every  avenue, 
and  vein,  and  fibre  of  the  universe,  the  power  of 
the  influence  of  this  act  went  thrilling  along  ;  for 
wherever  God  was,  there  the  sensation  was  felt. 
No  wonder  the  earth  reeled,  and  rocked,  and 
trembled,  and  the  rocks  were  split  ;  no  wonder 
the  graves  heaved  forth  their  dead  ;  no  wonder 


GLORYING  IN  THE  CROSS.  353 

the  sun  covered  his  face  in  darkness.  Here  we 
witness  an  act  performed  by  God,  which  rises  in 
grandeur  and  sublimity  above  all  the  displays  of 
His  power.  There  seems  to  be  a  significance  in 
the  very  outstretching  of  His  hands.  With  one 
He  holds  up  the  principles  of  His  government — 
lifts  them  high  above  the  touch  of  violence  or 
injury  ;  with  the  other,  though  pierced  and  bleed- 
ing it  is,  He  grasps  the  millions  of  the  human 
race,  and,  holding  them  upon  His  throbbing 
heart,  cries:  "Father!  forgive."  And  as  the, 
blood  trickles  down  His  side,  we  behold  the 
sublimest  of  all  spectacles — "Mercy  and  truth 
are  met  together,  righteousness  and  peace  have 
kissed  each  other."  Ever  since  that  time,  God 
can  "  be  just,  and  the  justifier  of  him  which  be- 
lieveth  in  Jesus." 

There  was,  at  the  same  time,  a  power  exerted, 
the  effects  of  which  are  not  visible  to  the  natural 
e}re — a  secret  power,  springing  from  the  Cross, 
which  sent  itself  back  to  the  commencement  of 
time,  mysteriously  imparting  virtue  to  all  the 
altars  of  sacrifice  which  had  been  fired  in  hope  of 
"the  promise;"  and  also  sending  itself  forward 
to  the  latest  period,  thus  stretching  itself  across 
the  generations  of  man.  from  the  eternity  of  the 
past  to  the  eternity  of  the  future.  The  Apostle 
calls  it,  "The  power  of  God  unto  salvation."  It 
is  in  our  atmosphere,  it  is  in  our  sanctuaries,  it 

16* 


354  SERMONS. 

is  in  our  closets,  it  is  in  our  "  mouth  and  heart," 
and,  upon  confession  of  the  crucified  Saviour,  it 
is  developed  upon  us  by  the  Holy  G-host,  in 
raising  our  dead  souls  from  the  death  of  sin  to  a 
life  of  "  righteousness,  peace  and  joy." 

Finally,  we  should  glory  in  the  Cross,  because 
it  is  our  only  hope  in  the  hour  of  death.  Dis- 
guise it  as  we  may,  there  is  a  mysterious  in- 
fluence beyond  the  power  of  our  resistance,  bear- 
ing us  rapidly  to  another  state  of  being.  Our 
life  is  but  "a  vapor,  that  appeareth  for  a  little 
time,  and  then  vanisheth  away."  Our  fathers — 
where  are  they  ?  They  have  fallen  asleep  upon 
our  bosoms,  and  we  have  taken  them  in  the  arms 
of  affection  and  laid  them  down  in  their  beds  of 
dust.  Soon  our  children  will  perform  the  same 
kind  office  for  us. 

"  Like  leaves  on  trees  the  race  of  man  is  found — 
Now  green  in  youth,  now  withering  on  the  ground  ; 
Another  race  the  following  spring  supplies  ; 
They  fall  successive,  and  successive  rise. 
So  generations  in  their  course  decay — 
So  flourish  these,  when  those  are  passed  away." 

When  the  time  of  our  change  shall  come,  then 
the  Cross  is  our  only  hope;  for  when  the  shadows 
rising  from  the  grave  are  dimming  our  sight, 
when  the  silver  cord  is  being  loosed,  when  the 
turbid  waters  are  rolling  at  our  feet — then  it 
breaks 

"  The  shock  blind  Nature  cannot  shun, 
And  lands  thought  smoothly  on  the  farther  shore." 


GLORYING  IN  THE  CROSS.  355 

In  that  hour,  the  light  of  the  Cross  falling  into 
the  tomb  scatters  its  darkness,  and  opens  to  the 
spiritual  eye  the  path  of  triumph,  trod  by  the 
rising  Saviour  ;  and  clinging  to  His  Cross,  and 
listening  to  His  encouraging  voice,  we  feel  that 
we  have  reached  the  perfection  of  human  nature, 
in  knowing  death  and  not  fearing  it  ;  for,  passing 
his  gate  in  defiant  and  triumphant  tone,  we  can 
cry,  "  0  death,  where  is  thy  sting  ;  0  grave, 
where  is  thy  victory  ?"  What  a  grand  thing  it 
is,  that  when  kind  friends,  and  our  dearest  ones, 
are  unable  to  administer  relief  or  solace  ;  when 
the  pride,  and  pomp,  and  pageant  of  earth  sicken 
rather  than  soothe  ;  when  the  heart  fails  to  pro- 
pel the  life-current,  and  is  becoming  still  and 
cold  ;  what  a  grand  thing  it  is  that  we  can  cast 
ourselves  upon  a  great  beating  heart,  whose 
mighty  pulsations,  in  flowing  out  to  the  farthest 
limits  of  the  universe,  sending  life  and  sustaining 
power  to  all  things,  just  at  that  moment  throb 
through  our  souls,  thaw  away  the  death-chill,  and 
warm  us  into  eternal  life. 

God  grant  that  we  may  all  be  prepared,  now 
and  ever,  to  join  the  Apostle  in  the  sentiment  of 
the  text ;  and  may  the  time  speedily  come  on, 
when  every  human  lip,  from  a  thorough  convic- 
tion of  its  worth  and  excellence,  shall  repeat : 
"  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the 
Cross  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 


356  SERMONS. 


!fe  Sritttttpfc  m&  §wm&  jof  tint  (BbtirtJau. 


"  To  Him  that  overcometh  will  I  give  to  eat  of  the  Tree  of  Life,  which  is  in 
the  midst  of  the  paradise  of  God." — Rev.  ii,  7. 


The  text  is  the  conclusion  of  the  letter  which 
John  was  commanded  to  write  to  the  angel  or  min- 
ister of  the  Church  at  Ephesus.  We  find  a  simi- 
lar conclusion  to  each  of  the  letters  written  to  the 
seven  Churches  of  Asia.  These  Churches  were 
Representative  Churches.  The  doctrines  taught, 
the  instructions  given,  the  reproofs  administered, 
the  promises  addressed,  were  intended  to  be  per- 
manent, standing  in  their  character,  as  applicable 
to  all  successors  in  all  after  ages  of  the  world. 
These  Churches  were  patterns  and  examples, 
illustrating  Christian  experience,  and  the  method 
of  God's  dealings  with  Christians,  not  only  in 
Church  organization,  but  also  in  their  individual 
relation  and  experience.  Therefore,  we  are  to 
receive  the  doctrines  taught  them  for  our  instruc- 
tion, the  reproofs  for  our  profit,  and  the  promises 
for  our  edification  and  encouragement.  Viewed 
in  this  light,  the  text  comes  with  peculiar  encour- 
agement to  the  contending,  struggling,  spiritual 
combatant.  In  addressing  it  to  you  for  this  pur- 
pose, this  morning,  I  shall  attempt  first  to  point 
out  the  obstacle  or  obstacles  to  be   overcome  in 


TRIUMPH  AND  REWARD  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN.     357 

order  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  benefit  promised. 
And  then  I  shall  undertake  to  explain  something 
of  the  nature  of  this  benefit,  represented  figura- 
tively by  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  life. 

First  then,  as  to  the  obstacles  to  be  overcome. 
"We  are  placed  here  in  a  state  of  probation.     We 
are  represented  as  warring  a  warfare — fighting  a 
good  fight.    So  much  like  a  battle  of  iron,  and  steel, 
and  lead  is  it,  that  all  the  implements  used  in  such 
warfare  are   used  figuratively  to    represent  the 
weapons   with    which   we   fight.     The    prize    for 
which  this   contest  is   waged,  the   end  to   be  at- 
tained,   is    eternal  life.     Now,  whatever  opposes 
this   end,  whatever    comes  between  us  and  this 
prize  as  a  let  or  hindrance  to  its  possession,  is  the 
enemy  to  be  engaged,  the  obstacle  to  be  overcome; 
all  the  influences  which  oppose,  the  enemies  which 
attack  you,  the  obstacles  and  barriers  to  be  over- 
come, may  be  embodied  under  one  name  and  per- 
sonage— the  devil.     He  is  called  the  prince  of  the 
power  of  the  air.     The  Apostle  says,  "  we  wres- 
tle not  with  flesh  and  blood,  but  with   principali- 
ties, with  powers,  against  the  rulers  of  the  dark- 
ness  of  this  world,  with  spiritual  wickedness   in 
high  places."     Again,  he  exhorts  us  "to  put  on 
the  whole  armor  of  G-od,  that  ye  may  be  able  to 
stand  against  the  wiles  of  the  devil."     I   do   not 
stop  here  to  prove   the  origin  of  the  devil ;  or  to 
delineate  the  peculiarities  of  his  individual  char- 


358  SERMONS. 

acter.  These  are  subjects  of  speculation,  to  a 
great  extent.  I  do  not  know  that  much,  if  any- 
practical  good,  would  result  from  a  clear  and  ex- 
plicit revelation  upon  these  points.  This  is  re- 
vealed to  us,  not  only  in  the  word  of  G-od,  but  in 
our  own  experience,  that  there  is  a  devil — shrewd, 
keen,  active;  our  great  and  terrible  adversary, 
constantly  striving  to  work  our  ruin.  Dr.  Clarke 
says  that  the  devil  is  not  very  wise.  I  suppose 
he  bases  his  opinion  on  his  act  of  folly  in  rebel- 
ling in  heaven,  and  in  that  it  is  true.  But  in 
everything  else  there  is  the  most  wonderful  method 
in  his  folly.  Whether  he  understands  how  to 
choose  the  right  end  or  not,  may  be  doubtful,  but 
having  chosen  the  end,  he  has  no  rival  in  skillfully 
adopting  the  means  for  its  accomplishment ;  and 
there  is  one  thing  very  certain  :  of  whatever  else 
lie  may  be  ignorant,  he  is  perfectly  well  acquainted 
with  human  nature.  He  knows  the  human  heart 
as  well,  almost,  as  if  he  had  formed  it.  He  knows 
its  strength  and  its  weakness.  He  is  especially 
familiar  with  the  weak  point  in  every  man's  char- 
acter. Then  again,  in  a  certain  sense  he  is  omni- 
present ;  not  personally,  but  by  his  agents.  For 
as  angels  are  ministering  spirits,  I  take  it  that 
since  there  are  legions  of  devils  or  evil  spirits, 
they  act  as  agents  for  Satan.  We  are  indeed- 
taught  this.  Then,  again,  he  has,  within  a  certain 
limit,  the  control   of  the  world — its   wealth,    its 


TRIUMPH  AND  REWARD  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN.     359 

honors,  and  its  pleasures.  Now  think,  having 
access  to  the  heart,  with  his  arts,  his  wiles,  his 
flattering,  his  power  to  captivate  and  deceive,  what 
a  dangerous  enemy  he  is  to  us.  Like  a  lion  roar- 
ing— ah !  only  a  thousand  times  more  so  in  dan- 
ger. A  lion  even,  whose  tongue  has  once  tasted 
of  human  blood,  as  he  lies  crouched  in  ambush 
beside  the  path,  having  an  eye  of  fire,  with  soft 
velvet  foot  gently  pushing  aside  the  long  grass 
that  obstructs  his  view,  as  he  lies  in  wait  for  the 
passer  by,  is  a  thousand  times  less  dangerous  and 
deadly.  He  only  kills  the  body,  if  successful  in 
his  spring.  The  first  weapon,  and  the  strongest, 
which  the  devil  uses  against  you  in  preventing 
your  embrace  of  Christianity,  is  the  opinion  of 
the  world  in  regard  to  religion.  A  distinc- 
tion is  to  be  drawn  here  between  the  opinion  of 
the  world  and  public  opinion  ;  otherwise  my  as- 
sertion would  not  be  true,  for  public  opinion  in 
this  country  favors  Christianity,  for  the  very  ob- 
vious reason  that  public  opinion  is  controlled  by 
Christian  sentiment. 

By  the  opinion  of  the  world,  I  mean  the  opin- 
ion of  the  rejecters  of  religion.  Christ  has  drawn 
the  distinction  in  his  address  to  his  disciples  :  "If 
ye  were  of  the  world — the  world  would  love  its 
own,  but  because  ye  are  not  of  the  world,  but  I 
have  chosen  you  out  of  the  world." 

These  wicked  rejecters   of  Christ  are  all  con- 


360  S1EMONS. 

trolled  by  their  father,  the  devil — led  by  him  cap- 
tive at  his  will.     Now,  of  course,  the  devil  has  set 
up  in  the  mind  and  heart  of  all  such  persons  a 
very  poor  opinion  of  religion — this  opinion  is  not 
always  manifested   in  words,  but  perhaps  more 
frequently  in  acts.     It  is  a  sort  of  feeling  that  re- 
ligion is  a  whim,  a  weakness,  a  fanaticism;  that  it 
will  do  very  well  for  old  women  and  young  peo- 
ple— will  not  hurt  them,  at  least.     But  this  weep- 
ing and  crying  about  the  altars  of  religion — all 
this  strictness  about  the  Sabbath  day — this  refus- 
ing to  indulge  a  little  wine  with  friends,  and  cards, 
and  such,  is  all  a  weakness,  is  unmanly  and  cow- 
ardly— proceeding  from  the   ghost  of  future  pun- 
ishments,  manufactured  from   disordered   brains. 
This  opinion  manifests  itself  in  various  ways — in 
sneers,  and  jeers,  and  jests,  and  winks,  and  is  put 
in  the  way  by  the  devil  as  the  most  difficult  and 
insurmountable  barrier  to  be  overcome.     Now,  I 
know  that  as    strong  a  weapon  as  the  devil  uses, 
against    the    young    particularly,    is    the    pleas- 
ures   and    honors    of    the    world.      He    takes 
them  as    it  were  upon  some  temple,  and  shows 
them  all    these    things,  and    promises    these   to 
them  if  they  will  serve  him,  and  tells  them  that  in 
becoming  Christians  they  part  with  all  these  and 
become   melancholy  and  mopy.     But  it  is  not  so 
difficult  to  undeceive  them,  when  the  laurels  fade 
so  easily,  and  in  the  midst  of  scenes  of  gaiety  and 


TRIUMPH  AND  REWARD  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN.     361 

festivity  they  so  often  feel  disquiet,  and  witness 
the  vanity  and  deceitfulness  of  earth ;  it  is  not  so 
hard  a  task  to  convince  them  that  he  is  an  arch 
deceiver.  But  it  is  exceedingly  hard  and  diffi- 
cult to  break  the  force  of  the  opinion  of  the  world. 
It  is  the  hardest  thing  to  break  this  opinion. 
Many  a  man,  after  he  has  seen  in  the  Cross  a 
remedy  for  the  plague  of  his  heart,  has  stayed 
away  through  the  force  of  this  opinion.  Many  a 
man  to-day  stands  hugging  his  chains  in  the  dun- 
geon of  sin,  sighing  for  freedom,  lying  down  at 
night  with  disquiet  and  fearful  apprehension, 
simply  because  he  fears  that  if  he  asks  to  be  free 
his  fellow  captive  and  convict  will  make  mouths 
at  him.  Many  a  man  has  even  gone  to  hell  be- 
cause he  was  afraid  some  blockhead  would  laugh 
at  him  for  wanting  to  go  to  heaven.  That  young 
man  out  there  in  that  slip,  who,  when  he  goes  to 
his  room  from  the  counter,  or  desk,  or  shop,  or 
office,  remembers  the  instruction  of  a  pious  moth- 
er, and  when  he  seeks  his  pillow,  almost  feels, 
night  after  night,  the  gentle  pressure  of  her  con- 
secrating hand,  would  be  religious  if  he  were  not 
ashamed  to  confess  Christ  before  men.  He  has 
felt  and  now  feels  that  the  pleasures  of  sin  are 
but  for  a  season — fleeting,  unsubstantial  ;  that 
the  fashions,  dress,  pomp  of  sinful  life,  sparkling 
with  diamonds,  and  lace,  and  purple,  are  vanity 
and  show,  a  breaking  bubble,  that  will  leave  him 


362  SERMONS. 

stripped  and  naked  in  hell  after  a  while.  For 
the  value  of  all  these  things  he  would  not  stay- 
away,  but  by  his  side  or  across  the  aisle  sits  his 
friend,  hardened  in  sin.  If  a  tiger  stood  at  the 
door  of  his  pew  it  would  not  more  effectually  stop 
him  in  taking  a  position  on  the  Lord's  side  than 
the  sneer  and  scoffing  look  which  he  knows  would 
be  turned  upon  him.  As  proof,  I  need  only  call 
your  attention  to  one  fact :  See  how  sinners  flock 
to  the  Cross  when,  in  seasons  of  refreshing,  they 
say  one  to  another,  "  let  us  go  !"  After  the 
Cross  is  reached  the  devil  renews  his  attacks. 
His  assaults  are  much  more  vigorous  and  deter- 
mined. As  a  general  rule  he  first  tries  to  cause 
doubt  ,and  then  to  induce  the  Christian  to  give 
up  all  hope  and  effort.  Failing  in  this,  he  will 
get  him,  if  he  can,  to  doubt  the  truth  of  religion 
anyhow,  suggesting  that  may  be,  after  all,  it  is  not 
true.  Who  has  not  felt  this  and  wished  for  some 
clearer,  plainer  proofs?  Failing  here,  he  contents 
him  with  his  present  state  ;  lulls  him  into  a 
false  security  ;  gets  him  at  ease  in  Zion  ;  tells 
him  that  justification  and  regeneration  are 
enough  ;  that  this  going  on  to  perfection  and  ho- 
liness is  a  vague,  mysterious  something,  not  un- 
derstood nor  agreed  upon  ;  that  the  truth  is,  it 
is  not  necessary  to  be  always  praying  and  think- 
ing about  religion  ;  that  the  things  of  life  have  to 
be  cured  for  some  ;  that  all  this  self-denial  is  not 


TKIUMPH  AND  REWARD  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN.     363 

required  ;  and  thus  lie  keeps  the  eyes  of  thousands 
of  Christians  blinded. 

But  the  mightiest  exertion  of  his  power 
and  skill  is  reserved  for  what  is  manifested 
in  his  assault  on  the  will.  It  is  not  every 
Christian  eye  that  he  can  blind,  nor  is  it  true 
that  the  majority  of  Christians  who  neglect  duty 
and  commit  sin,  do  it  blindly.  Though  the 
Christian  is  taught  right  at  the  threshhold  to 
pray.  "Thy  will  be  done,"  and  pray  continually, 
"Thy  will  be  done,"  yet  it  is  the  hardest  thing  in 
life  to  do.  The  devil  constantly,  by  some  mys- 
terious means,  puts  strength  into  his  obstinate 
will.  G-od  has  made  us  peculiar  beings  ;  He  has 
put  strange  fire  into  our  souls.  We  think,  we 
plan,  we  execute  ;  and  with  the  devil  at  our  el- 
bow, we  are  constantly  feeling  that  we  can  take 
care  of  ourselves.  It  is  the  hardest  thing  in  the 
world  for  us  to  do — to  give  up  all  control  of  our 
actions,  our  words,  our  thoughts,  our  desires, 
our  property,  our  families,  our  life — simply  be- 
cause the  devil  interposes.  It  is  the  greatest 
mystery  in  the  economy  of  grace.  The  Trinity 
is  a  mystery,  the  relief  furnished  by  the  shed- 
ding of  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  G-od  is  mystery. 
But  it  does  seem  to  me  that  this  rises  above  all 
others.  See!  The  judgment  is  clear  in  its  deci- 
sion that  we  should  yield  ourselves  servants,  to 
obey   Christ  ;   conscience   with   its  sensitiveness 


364  SERMONS. 

puts  its  seal  of  approval  to  the  decision  that  it  is 
right;  our  experience  teaches  us  that  it  is  our  in- 
terest to  do  so.  The  judgment  of  all  Christians 
accords  with  ours  in  the  testimony,  and  the  deci- 
sion of  every  conscience  agrees  with  ours,  and 
all  experience  concludes  and  corroborates  our 
own.  The  Holy  Spirit  countersigns  all  this  tes- 
timony, and  comes  and  woos  and  draws  us  ;  and 
yet  the  devil,  in  some  manner,  and  by  some 
means,  so  drugs  the  will  with  strange  poison  that, 
in  the  face  of  all  this,  we  disobey  Christ.  Though 
all  these  witnesses  convince  us,  beyond  the 
shadow  of  a  doubt,  that  the  honors  which  Christ 
confers  are  satisfying,  undying  and  eternal,  yet 
the  devil  has  us  to  set  them  aside  and  puts  us 
after  the  honors  of  the  world.  Though  now,  as  I 
can  see  from  your  faces  that  you  feel  that  treasure 
in  heaven  is  a  thousand  times  better  than  treas- 
ure on  earth ;  though  now,  whilst  sitting  together 
in  God's  sanctuary,  with  the  judgment,  and  con- 
science, and  experience,  and  the  Holy  Grhost, 
sounding  their  appeals  in  your  spiritual  ear,  you 
feel  that  the  riches  of  grace  in  Christ,  the  unfad- 
ing inheritance,  shall  engage  your  attention  and 
affection  mostly  in  the  future,  yet  to-morrow 
morning,  when  the  silence  and  solemnity  of  the 
Sabbath  shall  have  passed,  you  will  open  your 
stores  or  shops,  and  look  after  the  per  cent.,  and 
reach  as  far  for  a  dime,  with  as  much  forgetful- 


TRIUMPH  AXD  REWARD  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN.     365 

ness  of  God,  as  ever,  or  watch  your  bank  stock, 
or  chase  a  little  paper  to  get  to  shave  it,  as  if 
there  was  no  day  of  reckoning  coming.  Oh !  how 
can  you  be  saved  ?  In  this  view  we  see,  my 
brother,  the  strength  of  the  expression  of  Christ : 
"Strait  is  the  gate  and  narrow  is  the  way  which 
leadeth  unto  life,  and  few  there  be  that  find  it ;" 
and  another  expression,  authorized  by  Him,  "  if 
the  righteous  scarcely  are  saved,  where  shall  the 
ungodly  and  the  sinner  appear  ?" 

The  contest  is  hard,  is  fearful.  Truly  is  it  said 
that  "  he  that  rulethhis  own  spirit  is  greater  than 
he  that  taketh  a  city."  If  a  window  could  be 
placed  in  the  bosom,  and  each  contending  passion 
and  principle  could  assume  form  and  shape,  we 
should  see  no  more  hardly  and  hotly  contested 
conflict.  We  should  see  the  will  putting  at  defi- 
ance the  devil  ;  rising,  as  it  were,  above  a  thous- 
and bayonets,  and  balls,  and  pikes  ;  shutting  its 
eye  to  the  most  bewitching  and  fascinating  scene ; 
putting  its  fingers  in  its  ears  and  pressing  to  the 
Cross  against  its  retreating  foes,  crying,  "Life! 
eternal  life  !"  Here  is  heroism.  We  read  of  he- 
roes of  a  hundred  battles — here  is  one  of  a  thous- 
and thousand.  I  know  that  there  is  a  mistake  in 
the  world.  Men  think  that  he  who  comes  from 
the  field  of  carnage  covered  with  dust  and  sweat, 
with  garments  rolled  in  blood  and  temples  bound 
with  laurel,  is  the  true  hero.     Not  so.     The  Duke 


366  SERM0KS. 

of  Wellington  was  not  half  such  a  man  as  John 
"Wesley,  for  Wesley  conquered  the*  spirit  of  am- 
bition that  ruled  the  Duke.  If  we  can  rule  our 
own  spirits,  my  brethren  ;  if  we  can  get  the  mas- 
tery over  our  own  wills,  we  are  safe.  Here  is  the 
stronghold  of  the  devil ;  in  the  will  he  intrenches 
himself.  Let  this  be  attacked  and  carried.  Break 
down  and  crush  him  out  of  this  citadel,  and  then 
we  can  scatter  and  overcome  his  allies  and  forces 
without  difficulty. 

Now,  I  wish  to  call  your  attention  to  the 
manner  in  which  this  victory  is  achieved.  It 
is  expressed  in  these  words,  "By  faith  ye 
stand."  This  faith  gives  us  union  with  Christ. 
He  then  lives  in  us  and  we  in  Him  ;  His  life  is 
our  life,  and,  consequently,  His  strength  is  our 
strength  ;  and,  through  Christ  strengthening  us, 
we  can  do  all  things.  In  the  second  place,  this 
faith  engages  the  assistance  of  the  Spirit  in  our 
behalf.  It  is  through  the  Spirit  that  the  deeds 
of  the  flesh  are  mortified.  Bom.  viii,  13:  "The 
Spirit  worketh  in  us."  Phil,  ii,  13  :  "  The  Spirit 
living,  reigning  in  the  heart,  leads  us  into  all 
truth."  Third,  faith  helps  believers  by  giving  to 
them  the  power  of  applying  God's  promises. 
God  saves  none  but  through  Christ ;  Christ  gives 
by  the  Spirit  ;  the  Spirit  by  and  through  the 
promises. 

Now  I  call  vour  attention  to  the  reward  of  the 


TKIUMPH  AND  REWARD  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN.     367 

struggle — "Shall  eat  of  the  tree  of  life."  It  is 
gathered  partly  below.  The  soldier  needs  rations 
and  cheer  whilst  battling.  It  is  arranged  to 
be  given.  The  leaves  of  this  tree  fall  for  the 
"healing  of  the  nations.1'  You  have  observed 
that  in  presenting  the  doctrines  I  have  not  taken 
the  detail,  the  minutiae,  but  have  endeavored  to 
select  the  cardinal,  central,  general  principles  at 
each  point,  which  will  embody  all.  The  obstacle 
to  be  overcome,  as  noticed,  is  the  opinion  of  the 
world,  which  will  embrace  all  the  rest,  That, 
with  the  Christian,  is  his  own  will.  The  means 
for  achieving  the  victory  have  been  presented  by 
Faith.  And  now,  in  selecting  a  term  that  will 
come  nearest  expressing  all,  and  embodying  in 
its  meaning  the  sum  of  the  blessings  of  salvation 
in  this  life,  I  take  the  word  peace,  and  for  the  life 
to  come,  knowledge.  The  fruit  of  the  tree  that 
drops  on  earth,  and  is  gathered  by  hands  of  flesh, 
is  peace.  The  reward  in  this  life  of  our  struggle 
and  triumph  is  peace.  Who  is  to  estimate  it  ? 
Where  is  the  language  that  expresses  the  depth, 
and  length,  and  width  of  its  meaning?  Peace 
with  God — "justified  by  faith."  Peace  with 
God !  Ah !  if  God  smile  on  the  soul,  what  else 
dare  frown?  If  He  be  for  us,  no  man  can  be 
against  us.  Peace  with  God!  The  Christian,  in 
battling  with  his  great  adversary,  the  devil,  has 
struggled  up  above    the    influence    of  flesh    and 


368  SERMOWS. 

earth,  until  he  has  reached  a  position  from  which 
he  looks  down  with  calmness  and  complacency 
upon  the  warring  elements  beneath.  Clouds,  dark 
and  threatening,  may  peer  above  the  horizon, 
flinging  their  black  shadows  across  the  earth,  but 
he  feels  no  disturbance.  From  his  position  he 
looks  up,  and  a  smile  kindled  upon  the  very  face 
of  the  Almighty  lights  up  his  spiritual  sky.  The 
deep-toned  thunders  of  G-od"s  wrath  may  roll 
along  the  moral  heavens,  but  he  is  unalarmed; 
they  roll  not  for  him.  Wrecks  of  human  pride, 
and  ambition,  and  hope,  may  cover  the  earth,  but 
he  is  undismayed.  His  treasure  is  in  heaven — 
he  has  peace  with  G-ocl.  He  has,  also,  peace  with 
his  fellow.  Xo  quarrel,  no  enmity,  no  heartburn- 
ing— blessing  and  blest  of  all — peace  with  him- 
self. Neither  G-od,  who  is  greater  than  his  heart, 
nor  his  own  heart,  condemns.  Conscience,  sitting 
upon  her  throne  in  the  bosom,  speaks  in  constant 
words  of  approval.  Every  passion  and  appetite 
lift  up  their  voice  in  accents  of  peace.  He  arises 
in  the  morning  with  sweet  remembrance  of  pleas- 
ant dreams.  The  sun.  as  he  tears  from  his  face 
his  veil  of  forest  and  mist,  greets  him  with  a  kiss 
of  peace.  The  lark,  as  he  shoots  up  to  meet  and 
welcome  its  return,  shouts  in  his  ear  the  victory 
of  peace.  The  landscape,  the  beautiful  flowers, 
the  laughing  rill,  the  silvery  cloud,  sailing  along 
the  mountain  side,  joins  each  in  the  chorus  to  the 


THE  FALLING  OF  THE  WALLS  OF  JERICHO.     369 

song  of  Peace.  At  noon,  in  the  midst  of  his  daily 
toil,  his  peace  flows  like  a  river,  and  at  night, 
kneeling  in  prayer,  he  commits  his  sonl  to  GJ-od, 
seeks  his  pillow,  and  shuts  his  eyes  in  slumber, 
unconcerned  whether  he  will  awake  in  this  or  a 
brighter  world. 


®he  «gattm0  of  the  %lte  af  f  ericfta. 


"  So  the  people  shouted  when  the  ^n'esfc  blew  with  the  trumpets :  and  it 
came  to  pass,  when  the  people  heard  the  sound  of  the  trumpet,  and  the  people 
shouted  with  a  great  shout,  that  the  wall  fell  down  flat,  so  that  the  people  went 
up  into  the  city,  every  man  straight  before  him,  and  they  took  the  city." 

Josh,  vi,  20. 


Jericho  was  a  strong  city,  a  beautiful  city, 
called  the  city  of  palm  trees.  The  gates  were 
closed,  the  men  of  valor  were  shut  in,  did  not 
show  themselves.  It  was  besieged.  That  was 
one  of  the  queerest  spectacles  ever  presented  in 
military  operations.  The  soldiers,  and  priests, 
and  populace  attacking  the  first  city  in  the  Prom- 
ised Land.  By  God's  direction  they  marched 
around  the  city  once  a  day  for  six  days,  in  silence. 
On  the  seventh  day  they  marched  around  seven 
times  ;  on  the  seventh  round  the  priests  blew  the 
trumpets,  and  the  people  shouted  with  a  great 
shout,  and  the  walls  fell  right  down  and  they  took 
the  city.     This  incident  is  typical  in  its  nature. 

n 


370  •  SERMONS. 

The  manner  of  the  taking  of  this  city  symbolizes 
the  manner  of  setting  np  and  propagating  Chris- 
tianity in  all  ages  of  the  world,  symbolizes  the 
manner  of  the  destruction  of  the  kingdom  of  the 
devil.  At  the  sounding  of  the  trumpets  and  the 
shouting  of  the  people  the  walls  fell,  foreshadow- 
ing and  illustrating  the  truth  of  the  declaration, 
in  operating  the  means  of  grace,  that  "  it  is  not 
by  might  nor  by  power,  but  by  My  spirit,  saith 
the  Lord." 

It  was  not  the  blowing  of  the  trumpets  nor  the 
shouting  of  the  people  that  brought  down  the 
walls ;  yet  if  the  trumpets  had  not  been  blown 
and  the  people  had  not  shouted,  after  God  direct- 
ed it  to  be  done,  the  walls  would  not  have  fallen. 
I  do  not  desire  to  urge  this  in  defence  of  religious 
shouting.  I  may  stop,  however,  to  remark,  that 
whilst  there  has  been  much  objection  made  to  it 
and  a  good  deal  of  contention  about  it,  it  is  neither 
unscriptural  nor  senseless.  Extravagant  mani- 
festations, excessive  and  extreme  exhibition  of 
feeling,  are  both  unnatural  and  unscriptural;  but  a 
natural  expression  of  inward  peace  and  joy  under 
proper  circumstances  is  both  scriptural  and  na- 
tural. When  we  are  pleased  we  smile;  when  we 
are  merry  we  laugh;  when  we  are  rejoiced  we 
shout.  A  shout  is  the  consummation  of  a  smile. 
The  boy  shouts  in  his  sport,  the  wine-bibber  over 
his  glass,  the  politician  at  the  polls,  the  soldier 


THE  FALLING  OF  THE  WALLS  OF  JERICHO.      371 

over  his  victory,  and  the  Christian  over  his  spirit- 
ual triumphs.  Not  every  boy  will  shout  when 
delighted,  nor  every  politician  when  successful, 
nor  every  soldier  when  triumphant,  nor  every 
Christian  when  rejoiced.  It  is  perfectly  natural 
for  some  persons  to  shout  when  conscious  of  peace 
with  G-od,  and  I  have  always  thought  it  strange 
that  they  should  be  complained  at.  I  have  come 
to  regard  it  thus,  that  it  is  not  the  shouting  that 
is  offensive,  but  the  thing  which  produces  it.  It 
proceeds  from  a  professed  knowledge  of  sins  for- 
given and  an  experimental  sense  of  God's  in- 
dwelling presence  in  the  soul.  Persons  who 
think  themselves  religious  have  not  this  expe- 
rience, and  conclude  that  those  who  have  it,  have 
not,  and  rail  out  against  them.  It  cannot  be  the 
shouting.  Who  has  any  prejudice  against  or  ob- 
jects to  the  boy  -shouting  after  hoop  or  over  his 
top?  Who  ever  heard  of  anybody  objecting  to 
the  shouting  of  the  politician,  except  the  opposi- 
tion ?  All  join  the  soldier  in  his  shout  of  victory. 
So  all  who  believe  in  the  cause  which  produces  it, 
approve  Christian  shouting.  I  may  remark  fur- 
ther in  this  connection,  that  the  genuine  shout 
of  the  sincerely  pious  tends  to  advance  Christ's 
cause.  The  shout  at  the  polls  inspires  the  hearts 
of  the  candidate's  friends — the  shout  that  runs 
along  the  lines  as  the  enemy  begins  to  waver 
nerves  the  heart  and  strengthens  the  arm  of  the 


372  SERMONS. 

soldier,  and  often  perches  victory  upon  his  ban- 
ners— so  at  the  shouting  of  the  pious,  (rod  causes 
the  wall  which  the  sinner  has  built  around  his 
heart  to  tumble  down.  The  devil  has  been  con- 
fused by  a  shout  many  a  time,  when  the  most 
skillful  have  been  beaten  by  him  in  argument.  I 
would  to  God  that  the  good  old  days  of  shouting 
would  return  upon  the  Church.  So  much,  then, 
for  shouting. 

I  draw  this  proposition  from  the  incident  re- 
cited in  the  text,  that  the  means  instituted  by 
God,  though  simple,  are  sufficient  for  success  in 
propagating  Christianity.  In  propagating  Chris- 
tianity the  plan  of  operation  is  different,  and  we 
are  required  to  act  from  different  considerations 
from  those  that  actuate  us  in  worldly  affairs. 
We  are  to  walk,  and  work,  and  fight  by  faith, 
and  not  by  sight.  Here  is  found  the  grand  pe- 
culiar feature  of  the  Christian  system.  Whilst 
we  use  the  means  appointed,  it  is  faith  that  God 
will  work  through  these  means  that  gives  the  vic- 
tory. The  Apostle  says:  '"By  faith  the  walls  of 
Jericho  fell  down  after  they  were  compassed  about 
seven  clays."  God  has  appointed  certain  means, 
plain  and  simple,  for  the  accomplishment  and 
development  of  the  plan  of  salvation;  and  in  order 
to  success,  it  is  only  necessary  to  use  those  means 
with  the  belief  that  they  are  sufficient.  Back  of 
all  these  means,  and  instrumentalities,  and  efforts 


THE  FALLING  OF  THE  WALLS  OF  JERICHO.      373 

of  our  own,  the  Holy  Spirit  is  placed  to  give  suc- 
cess. "It  is  not  by  might  nor  by  power,  but  by 
my  Spirit,  saitli  the  Lord."  Faith  is  the  link  that 
connects  the  means  and  the  Holy  Spirit.  It  is 
the  channel  through  which  the  Holy  Spirit  comes 
to  our  aid. 

In  becoming  a  Christian  the  individual  pro- 
poses two  things.  First,  his  own  salvation,  and, 
secondty,  the  salvation  of  his  fellows.  In  secur- 
ing his  own  salvation  he  must  only  use  the  means 
appointed.  These  are  sufficient.  He  must  pray, 
search  the  Scriptures,  hear  God's  word  preached 
— "faith  cometh  by  hearing" — visit  the  sick, 
clothe  the  naked ;  have  faith  in  them — this  links 
them  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  work  is  done. 
This  faith  is  regarded  as  a  great  mystery — some 
peculiar  something  that  is  unearthly.  Not  at  all 
is  it  so.  Every  man  has  the  principle  of  it  in  him. 
Every  man  acts  upon  it  every  day.  Men  sow, 
and  plant,  and  reap  by  it;  embark  in  merchan- 
dise ;  engage  in  speculation ;  expend  money  in 
qualifying  themselves  for  professions  and  differ- 
ent departments  of  business.  You  embark  in 
business,  venture  your  capital  in  it,  because  you 
have  confidence  in  your  own  ability  to  manage  it. 
You  have  faith  in  your  tact,  and  skill,  and  judg- 
ment. So  in  religion  ;  we  are  to  have  faith  in 
the  means  which  God  has  appointed.  If  you 
have  as  much  faith  in  God  as  you  have  in  your- 


374  SERMONS. 

selves,  it  will  save  you.  Ah,  but  you  say,  you 
can't  see  how  praying,  and  reading,  and  hearing 
the  preaching  of  God's  word,  has  any  connection 
with  cleansing  the  heart.  Faith  opens  the  spirit- 
ual eye  to  it.  It  is  "the  evidence  of  things  not 
seen."  I  reckon  it  was  right  difficult  for  men  to 
see  how  shouting  and  sounding  a  trumpet  caused 
a  solid  wall  to  tumble  and  fall.  All  a  man  has 
to  do  is  with  sincerity  and  honesty  to  follow  the 
prescription — begin  and  then  God  begins — draw 
nigh  and  then  God  draws  nigh.  He  need  not 
stop  to  ask  any  questions,  but  let  him  build  the 
altar,  lay  the  sacrifice  upon  it,  and  God  will  send 
down  the  fire  and  consume  it. 

The  great  difficulty  with  us,  we  feel  that  the 
means  appointed  are  insufficient,  and  we  wish  to 
strengthen  them  a  little,  and  this  always  causes 
failure.  There  must  be  an  exact  compliance  with 
the  terms — no  departure  from  them,  no  addition 
to  or  subtraction  from  them.  Everything  must 
be  done  as  directed — nothing  more  or  less.  See 
how  exact  God  is.  He  refused  Moses  an  entrance 
into  the  promised  land  because  he  smote  the  rock 
twice  with  his  rod,  instead  of  speaking  to  it,  as 
directed. 

After  a  man  is  converted — regenerated — then 
he  goes  on  to  perfection  by  the  use  of  the 
means — simply  a  trust  in  their  efficacy.  Here  I 
notice  two  extremes.     First,  a  trust  in  God  with- 


THE  FALLING  OF  THE  WALLS  OF  JERICHO.      375 

out  the  use  of  tbe  means  ;  and  secondly,  a  use  of 
the  means  without  trust  in  God.  The  first  class 
embraces  those  persons  who  have  a  blind  super- 
stitious trust  ;  who,  instead  of  using  the  means, 
vainly  imagine  that  God  will  do  everything  for 
them,  and  in  His  own  way  crown  them  with  suc- 
cess. The  second  class  embraces  those  who 
attach  more  importance  to  the  use  of  means  than 
to  a  trust  in  God  ;  such  think  that  much  depends 
upon  themselves.  This  latter  class  is  much  the 
larger.  Christians  trust  to  themselves  too  much — 
rely  too  much  upon  instrumentalities  of  their 
own  appointing.  In  their  worldly  affairs  this  is 
more  apparent.  In  the  maintenance  of  their 
families  such  Christians  rely  almost  exclusively 
on  their  own  skill  and  exertions.  As  proof  of  this, 
they  feel  that  their  business  would  suffer  if  they 
should  close  their  shop  or  store  to  attend  the 
week  service  in  the  sanctuary,  or  evening  lecture. 
They  withhold  their  substance  from  the  Lord, 
thinking  they  lose  just  the  amount  they  contrib- 
ute, as  though  the  Lord  was  dishonest — not  pay- 
ing interest.  Thus  it  is  in  all  their  spiritual  ex- 
ercises ;  there  is  a  want  of  trust  in  the  means,  and 
hence  all  this  lifelessness,  want  of  power  and 
deadness  in  the  service  of  God.  Then  again, 
there  are  those  who  can  rely  upon  the  means  insti- 
tuted very  well  in  prosperity,  but  cannot  do  so 
in  adversity.     They  can   trust  God  very  well  in 


376  SEEMONS. 

the  day  time,  but  not  in  the  night ;  in  sunshine  but 
not  in  storm.  Such  trust  in  G-ocl  only  a  part  of 
the  time,  and  with  only  a  portion  of  the  heart. 

Again,  a  trust  in  and  reliance  upon  the  means 
which  God  has  instituted  is  only  necessary  to  se- 
cure success  to  Christians  in  their  associated 
capacity.  I  know  these  means  are  simple,  very 
plain,  and,  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  mean. 
Christ's  entrance  into  the  world  was  quite  unos- 
tentatious— no  pomp,  no  pageant  attending  it. 
He  passed  His  minority  in  obscurity  ;  when  He 
entered  upon  His  ministry  He  surrounded  Him- 
self with  no  noble,  splendid,  glittering  attend- 
ants ;  a  plain  man,  clad  in  ordinary  dress,  going 
about  doing  good,  was  He.  And  of  His  ambas- 
sadors He  said,  "  For  ye  see  your  calling,  breth- 
ren, how  that  not  many  wise  men  after  the  flesh, 
not  many  mighty,  not  many  noble,  are  called, 
but  God  hath  chosen  the  foolish  things  of  the 
world  to  confound  the  wise,  and  God  hath  chosen 
the  weak  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  things 
which  are  mighty."  He  chose  those  fishermen, 
and  tentmakers,  and  sent  them  out,  poor,  yes,  with- 
out scrip  and  with  but  one  coat;  told  them  to  pray, 
and  taught  them  how  to  do  it ;  take  the  word  of 
God  and  search  the  Scriptures,  read  these  chap- 
ters and  verses  ;  take  a  little  bread  and  wine  and 
represent  my  death  and  passion,  in  remembrance 
of  me  ;  take  a  little  water  and  apply  it  as  a  sign 


THE  FALLING  OF  THE  WALLS  OF  JERICHO.      377 

of  inward  washing  ;  proclaim  redemption  in  my 
name  to  every  creature,  and  lo,  I  am  with,  you 
always,  even  to  the  end.  This  to  human  eyes,  for 
the  conquest  of  the  world,  seemed  hopeless.  But 
it  was  and  is  just  such  a  process  as  walking 
around  a  walled  city  and  blowing  trumpets  and 
shouting.  The  introduction  of  the  kingdom  of 
redemption  was  astonishingly  simple  and  plain ; 
the  means  also.  Take  one  for  illustration  and 
look  closely,  and  this  will  suffice  for  the  whole. 
Take  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper,  as  we 
are  to  partake  of  it  presently.  How  simple  and 
unostentatious,  and  what  striking  accord  is  it  with 
all  the  other  means  which  God  has  instituted  ! 
What  is  it — its  design ?  "This  do  in  remembrance 
of  me."  It  is  to  keep  alive  the  memory  of  His 
death.  It  is  His  monument.  Though  simple,  it 
is  sufficient  to  accomplish  the  end  designed  in  it. 
Men  build  monuments  of  stone  and  brass  to  per- 
petuate the  memory  of  the  deeds  of  the  brave 
and  the  heroic;  to  keep  alive  and  fresh  the  memo- 
ries of  the  pious  and  virtuous  ;  and  I  like  it.  I 
like  to  see  the  monument  lifting  up  its  broad 
front  into  the  heavens,  and  with  its  lofty  shaft 
piercing  the  clouds.  I  like  to  read  the  inscrip- 
tions upon  its  sides.  It  is  just  and  wise,  it  ele- 
vates our  common  humanity.  Now  this  sacra- 
ment is  Christ's  monument.  No  splendidly  pol- 
ished stones  put  together,  no  burnished  brass,  no 

11* 


378  SERMONS. 

inscriptions  in  blazing  capitals,  bnt  a  table,  a 
vessel  for  the  wine,  which  any  hand  may  press 
from  the  grape  ;  bread  which  any  housewife  may 
prepare,  and  a  white  napkin.  It  is  moveable, 
may  be  taken  down  and  put  up,  may  with  ease 
and  facility  be  constructed  in  all  climes  and  in 
any  age.  It  is  like  the  salvation  it  symbolizes, 
it  is  not  costly  in  gold.  Earthly  monuments 
sometimes  linger  for  means  to  complete  them, 
but  there  is  no  church  so  poor  that  is  not  able 
to  erect  this  monument.  Though  simple,  I  de- 
clare it  is  grand  and  sublime  in  its  simplicity. 
Men  who  walk  by  sight,  though,  wish  to  know 
how  this  can  accomplish  the  end.  "  What  good 
does  a  little  bread  and  wine  do  ?"  they  ask.  "It 
is  useless.  The  memory  of  His  death  could  be 
kept  alive  without  it,  and  there  are  other  means 
of  grace  sufficient."  The  eye  of  faith  only  sees 
it.  It  would  not  amount  to  much  if  Christ  did 
not  manifest  himself  in  the  sacrament,  and  keep 
His  promise  too,  "  I  am  with  you."  The  Holy 
Spirit  develops  His  atonement  upon  us  in  it,  and 
this  power  is  kept  and  communicated  from  gen- 
eration to  generation.  See  the  father  as  he 
leaves  his  little  boy  at  the  seat  and  comes  to  this 
sacrament.  As  he  bows  at  the  altar  what  is  it 
that  makes  his  great  frame  shake  ?  What  fills 
him  with  such  emotion  ?  Why  those  tears  ?  Thus 
it  accomplishes  its  object,  and  yet  it  is  so  simple, 


THE  FALLING  OF  THE  WALLS  OF  JERICHO.      379 

but  in  striking  accord  with  all  the  means  used. 
Men  cannot  see  how  these  means  are  sufficient  to 
accomplish  the  end.     Neither  could  they  see  how 
they  could  make  the  walls  fall  by  blowing  trum- 
pets and  shouting  ;  but  as  the  walls  fell,  so,  by 
using  the  means,  Christianity  spread  with  a  rap- 
idity beyond  all  precedent,  and  continued  to  do 
so  until   those  who    controlled  it   undertook   to 
mend   the   means.     In   these   latter   days   there 
seems  to  be  a  spirit  to  mend  these  means.    There 
is  a  growing  spirit  to  add  to  and  strengthen  the 
instrumentalities,  to  attach  a  little  pomp,  make  it 
attractive.     Many  act  as  if  they  thought  a  fine 
house,  splendidly  painted  pews,  arched  galleries, 
and   shaded  windows,   and  carpeted  aisles,   and 
glittering  steeples,  were  essential  to  the  success 
of  God's  Church.     These  good   natured  people 
are  much  more  concerned  to  have  these  things 
than  to  have  a  flame  of  pure,  holy,  humble,  self- 
denying,   cross-bearing  piety,  burning  upon   the 
altar.     In  their  eyes  the  glitter  and  tinsel  of  the 
dome    is   of   much   more    consequence    than   the 
brightness  of  the  shekinah  upon  the  cloud  resting 
over  the  mercy  seat.     The  tone  of  the  bell  and 
music  of  the  orchestra  are  looked  to  with  more 
interest  than   that  melody  of  the  soul  that  is  in 
unison  and  accord  with  the  redeemed  and  angels' 
harps.     Thus  it  is  that  wealth  is  sought  after  and 
the  rich  are  pressed  to  enter  Christian  commu- 


380  SERMONS. 

nions,  with  a  zeal  that  makes  an  honest  Christian's 
face  tingle.  Why,  in  a  church  in  my  own  know- 
ledge, in  a  church  meeting  when  the  state  of  things 
was  being  deplored,  a  pious  brother  urged  the  ne- 
cessity of  more  piety  for  success,  and  another  mem- 
ber arose  and  said  they  needed  more  wealth — 
more  wealthy  members.  This  is  the  feeling  of 
many  who  do  not  express  it.  See  how  it  is.  Let 
a  rich  man  or  lady  indicate  an  inclination  to  join 
the  church,  and  just  see  how  they  are  petted, 
and  caressed,  and  nursed,  but  a  poor  man  is 
hardly  noticed  ;  very  often  he  will  be  in  the 
church  and  his  probation  almost  ended  before 
this  class  of  persons  know  that  he  has  even  joined. 
Now,  my  brethren,  all  this  sort  of  thing  is  a  mis- 
take, it  is  wrong,  it  is  trusting  too  much  to  human 
instrumentalities,  and  it  is  antagonistic  to  the 
spirit  of  the  Gospel.  God  regards  not  the  rich 
more  than  the  poor,  for  they  are  all  the  work  of 
His  hands.  "Hath  not  G-od  chosen  the  poor  of 
this  world,  rich  in  faith,  and  heirs  of  the  King- 
dom ?"  There  is  no  objection  to  fine  churches,  if 
a  fervid  piety  glows  on  the  hearts  of  the  mem- 
bers ;  no  objection  to  rich  people,  if  they  bring 
with  their  wealth  a  sanctified  heart — and  without 
this  they  are  a  curse  to  any  church,  for  they  al- 
ways have  most  influence  and  that  influence  is 
against  piety,  unless  they  are  pious  ;  hence  Bishop 
Asbury's  prayer  in  the  first  house  dedicated  to 
God.  ' 


THE  FALLING  OF  THE  WALLS  OF  JERICHO.      381 

Again,  we  see  this  tendency  to  trust  in  human 
instrumentalities  in  the  great  stress  laid  upon 
and  the  importance  attached  to  the  educational 
enterprises  of  the  age,  in  their  connection  with 
the  Church.  It  is  getting  to  be  the  feeling  that 
every  town  and  village  must  have  a  church 
school  or  the  Church  will  go  down  ;  our  children 
must  be  educated  into  the  Church,  convicted  by 
the  power  of  letters,  rather  than  by  the  fire  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  We  have  no  objection  to  education 
— to  schools.  They  are  all  proper  and  right,  and 
we  warmly  support  them,  but  we  must  keep  dis- 
tinctly confined  their  proper  position.  We  must 
break  down  that  disposition  that  is  constantly 
inclining  us  to  attach  an  undue  importance  to  edu- 
cation. We  should  not  in  the  least  allow  that 
trust  which  should  be  placed  in  God  and  in  the 
use  of  the  simple  means  which  he  has  instituted, 
to  be  transferred  to  schools  and  colleges,  making 
them  primary  when  they  should  be  secondary. 

The  great  lesson  we  derive  from  what  has  been 
said,  and  which  we  wish  to  impress  upon  your 
hearts  and  minds  is,  that  in  order  io  success  we 
need  only  to  trust  in  God  in  the  use  of  the  means 
which  He  has  appointed.  No  matter  how  simple 
they  may  be,  we  must  remember  that  the  king- 
dom of  Christ  comes  not  with  observation  ;  was 
not  introduced  into  the  world  with  external  show, 
and  pomp,  and  splendor,  but  lives  and  marches  on 


382  BERM0NS. 

steadily  without  it.  Christ  did  not  press  into  His 
service  wealth,  or  worldly  wisdom,  or  the  patron- 
age of  power  ;  He  might  have  clone  it,  He  might 
have  come  with  sword,  and  cannon,  and  spear,  and 
horses,  and  chariots,  dressed  in  glittering  robes, 
and  followed  by  flashing  armies  ;  but  He  came 
humbly,  instituted  a  few  simple  means  that  all 
may  use,  and  trusting  in  God  in  the  use  of  them, 
success  is  certain.  Whenever,  in  obedience  to 
God's  command,  the  trumpets  are  blown,  and  the 
people  shout,  the  walls  will  tumble  down. 


(THIS  SERMON  WAS  PREACHED  BEFORE  THE  LATE  WAR, 
IMMEDIATELY  AFTER  THE  HARPER'S  FERRY  INSUR- 
RECTION.—Eds.) 


"  Enter  into  His  gates  with  Thanksgiving." — Ps.,  c,  4. 


This  day  has  been  set  apart  by  the  Executive 
of  the  State  as  a  day  of  general  Thanksgiving  to 
God  for  His  mercy  and  blessings.  Our  whole 
people  are  called  upon  to  quit  for  awhile  their 
vocations,  and  turn  their  thoughts  and  affections 
in  gratitude  to  the  Great  Giver  of  all  our  bless- 
ings, the  source  from  whence  is  all  our  help. 

In  the  Jewish  ceremonials,  under  the  old  dis- 
pensation, worship  was  divided  into  different  kinds, 


THANKSGIVING  DAT.  383 

and  offerings,  suitable  and  appropriate  to  the  act 
of  worship,  were  made.  There  were  the  peace 
offering,  the  sin  offering,  and  the  thank  offering. 
In  their  worship  of  Thanksgiving  the  first  fruits 
of  the  year,  and  the  first  fruits  of  the  flock,  in 
profuseness,  with  great  pomp  and  ceremony,  were 
offered  to  God  as  expressions  of  their  gratitude 
for  His  care,  and  compassion,  and  blessings.  They 
felt  to  be  as  binding  upon  them,  and  as  important 
to  observe  their  Thanksgiving  worship,  as  to  make 
sin  offerings.  It  should  be  a  source  of  deep  mor- 
tification to  all  who  acknowledge  dependence 
upon  God,  that  no  more  importance  is  attached  to 
Thanksgiving  worship  in  this  age  of  Christendom. 
It  is  to  be  deeply  regretted  that  all  our  worship 
looks  mainly  to  the  propitiating  God's  favor — de- 
precating His  wrath,  and  imploring  His  blessings, 
without  having  mingled  with  it,  to  a  sufficient 
extent,  the  great  element  of  gratitude  and  Thanks- 
giving. We  can  only  account  for  it  in  that  prone- 
ness  in  the  human  heart  to  foster,  in  prosperity, 
a  spirit  of  self-exaltation  and  forgetfulness  of  G-od. 
We  are  inclined  that  there  is  quite  too  much  truth 
in  that  quaint  saying  of  St.  Bernard  ;  that  "  free- 
dom from  suffering  is  the  mother  of  self-confidence 
and  carelessness,  the  poison  of  piety,  the  moth  of 
holiness."  If  we  are  afflicted  or  unblest,  we  re- 
sort to  worship  as  our  remedy,  but  if  blessings 
come  there  is  quite  too  much  disposition  in  us  to 


384  SERMONS. 

feel  that  it  is  nothing  more  than  we  have  a  right 
to  expect.  This  to  me  appears  a  strong  evidence 
of  the  depravity  of  the  human  heart,  that  nations, 
as  well  as  individuals,  as  a  general  rule,  who  have 
been  greatly  blessed  and  prosperous,  become  for- 
getful of  the  source  of  their  blessings.  There  is 
too  much  selfishness  in  our  worship.  When  we 
are  prosperous  we  do  not  feel  the  need  of  help  ; 
and  when  adversity  and  affliction  come  upon  us 
we  turn  our  hearts  to  wisdom,  and  seek  help  in 
the  strong  arm  of  Jehovah,  because  we  cannot 
help  ourselves.  This  sort  of  worship  proceeds  on 
the  principle  that  prompts  the  swine  to  look  up 
when  the  acorns  cease  to  fall.  But  there  are 
exceptions,  my  friends,  to  this  general  rule,  and 
that  which  presents  itself  to  my  mind  as  one  of 
the  sublimest  pictures  upon  which  we  may  look, 
is  a  nation  or  community  of  individuals  who, 
when  they  enjoy  great  prosperity,  to  whom  God's 
goodness  is  abundantly  shown,  are  properly  exer- 
cised thereby,  are  led  to  repentance,  and  are 
found  pouring  out  their  hearts  in  Thanksgiving 
and  praise.  We  imagine  no  picture  more  sublime 
could  be  presented  to  the  gaze  of  angels,  than  a 
nation  gathered  around  its  altars,  mingling  its 
songs  of  Thanksgiving  with  the  songs  and  notes  of 
gratitude  of  the  angels  in  Heaven.  Such  is  your 
work,  my  hearers,  this  day.  The  exhortation  of 
the  Psalmist  you  have  heeded  ;  "  Enter  into  His 
gates  with  Thanksgiving." 


THANKSGIVING  DAY.  385 

The  reason  assigned  for  Thanksgiving,  is  God's 
goodness  to  us,  and  in  order  that  our  gratitude  to 
God  may  be  more  deeply  awakened,  and  our 
Thanksgiving  more  warmly  poured  forth,  let  us 
recount  some  of  the  evidences  of  His  goodness  to 
us.  First,  then,  the  very  location  we  occupy  as 
a  people  on  the  globe  should  be  a  source  of 
Thanksgiving  to  us.  Truly  the  lines  have  fallen 
to  us  in  pleasant  places.  Born,  not  amongst  the 
cold,  barren,  moss-covered  rocks,  where  the  moun- 
tains and  hills  sit  with  their  garments  of  snow 
tightly  drawn  around  them  forever,  where  our 
ingenuity  would  be  constantly  taxed  to  avoid 
freezing  to  death  ;  nor  amidst  the  hot,  arid 
sands  of  the  Torrid  Zone,  where  every  wind 
that  should  blow  upon  us  would  come  laden 
with  miasma,  ozone  and  putrefaction  ;  but  in 
the  midst  of  the  most  pleasant  of  all  climates 
— the  temperate  zone — where  the  cold  winds, 
laden  with  hoar  frosts  from  the  north,  mingling 
with  the  hot,  sultry  breezes  of  the  south,  are  tem- 
pered and  rendered  the  mildest,  and  most  pleasant 
and  healthful  of  any  place  on  earth.  This  com- 
mingling of  atmosphere  is  a  fit  emblem  to  repre- 
sent the  blending,  upon  our  latitude,  of  all  the 
gifts  and  blessings  with  which  God  has  crowned 
the  earth.  We  have  hill  and  dale  blended 
together,  rivers  and  creeks,  gushing  springs  and 
gurgling  rills  ;  the  black,  rich  soil  of  the  south 


386  SERMONS. 

refined  and  purified  by  the  granite  soil  of  the 
north  ;  grains  and  fruits  of  almost  every  kind. 
Thus  the  position  we  occupy,  as  to  location  on 
the  face  of  the  globe,  should  be  a  source  of  contin- 
ual Thanksgiving  and  gratitude  to  us. 

Again,  our  religious  and  political  blessings  con- 
stitute matter  of  Thanksgiving  to  God.  I  have 
united  the  two,  because  of  their  close  union  and 
alliance.  The  founders  of  our  government  sought 
a  refuge  from  religious  persecution,  and  in  their 
first  agreement  upon  rules  for  their  government, 
they  breathed  into  their  laws  the  principles  of 
religious  freedom,  justice,  equality,  and  fraternity; 
and,  by  the  blessings  of  God,  our  civil  and  reli- 
gious institutions  stand  forth  to-day  the  wonder 
and  admiration  of  the  world.  We  hold  in  pro- 
found veneration  the  memory  of  our  illustrious 
revolutionary  heroes,  who  shook  off  the  yoke  of 
British  oppression,  who  struck  down  the  "  one 
man  power,"  and  struck  out  the  bold  theory 
that  every  citzen  is  a  sovereign,  and  laid  the 
foundation  of  our  free  institutions  broad  and  deep. 
While  we  thus  properly  venerate  their  memory, 
we  should  never  forget  that  the  God  of  battles, 
whom  we  this  day  worship,  turned  the  bullet  from 
the  heart  of  him  who  guided  the  weak  and 
wearied  and  broken  little  band  to  final  triumph  ; 
that  He  manifestly  presided  in  the  first  councils 
of  this   nation  ;    that   whilst  the  heroes,  whose 


THANKSGIVING  DAY.  387 

memories  wg  cherish,  planted  the  tree  of  liberty, 
and  watered  it  with  their  blood  and  tears,  this 
same  God — the  God  of  peace  as  well  as  of  battles 
— sent  down  upon  its  blossoms  the  dew  of  heaven, 
and  touched  its  boughs  with  golden  fruit,  as  the 
increase  which  we  now  pluck  and  eat ;  and  to-day 
as  a  nation  we  sit  beneath  it,  refreshed  by  its 
shade  and  nourished  by  its  fruits,  each  enjoying 
the  largest  amount  of  personal  liberty,  each  pro- 
tected in  his  rights,  which  is  the  end  of  all  legis- 
lation ;  with  our  places  of  power  and  distinction 
open,  not  to  wealth  or  title,  but  to  merit ;  not  to 
a  few,  but  to  all,  even  the  humblest.  For  this 
inestimable  blessing  of  religious  and  civil  liberty 
our  Thanksgiving  should  go  up  heartily  to  Al- 
mighty God.  At  the  same  time,  we  should  not 
forget,  that  whilst  the  greatest  protection  is  given 
to  religious  liberty,  that  all  that  is  religious  in 
its  character  is  cherished  and  promoted,  so  that 
God  is  worshipped  and  acknowledged  universally 
in  our  nation.  Christianity  throughout  all  our 
land,  in  its  greatest  purity,  with  its  richest  bless- 
ings, is  taught  and  practiced.  We  should  not 
forget  that  the  pure  principles  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ  give  permanency  and  stability  to  our  civil 
institutions  ;  and,  remembering  this,  we  should 
not  forget  to  offer  up  our  gratitude  and  Thanks- 
giving to  Almighty  God  for  these  blessings. 
At  this  particular  time  we  should  thank  God 


388  SERMONS. 

for  our  preservation  from  civil  broil,  and  discord, 
and  bloodshed.  The  hand  of  God  has  evidently- 
been  holding  the  destiny  of  our  nation,  as  mani- 
fested by  His  acts  of  special  providence.  Here 
is  the  sheet  anchor  of  our  hope.  As  already  in- 
timated, God  thundered,  and  shook,  and  triumph- 
ed for  us  in  our  Revolutionary  struggle.  He  fas- 
tened the  last  link  that  bound  us  together  in  our 
Federal  Union.  His  special  agency  has  been  mani- 
festly marked  in  preserving  us  amidst  more  than 
one  fearful  crisis.  When  clouds,  thick  and  black, 
have  gathered  in  our  political  atmosphere,  boiling 
with  sectional  passion,  and  thundering  with  loud 
peals  of  discord  and  civil  strife,  His  voice  has 
been  heard  above  the  storm,  crying,  "Peace,  be 
still."  What  but  this  turned  aside  the  stroke 
recently  aimed  at  our  peace  ?  Lying  on  the  di- 
viding line  between  the  North  and  South,  we  see 
a  whole  town  unsuspectingly  retiring  to  their 
beds  to  sleep,  their  servants  domiciled  in  their 
bed  chambers,  and  on  their  premises,  with  pikes 
ready  made  to  their  hands,  having  the  control  of 
their  locks  and  bolts.  Under  these  favorable 
circumstances  two  score  of  men — armed  men  at 
that — reveal  themselves  from  under  cover  of  the 
black  plot- — and  God  only  knows  how  many  were 
concealed  who  fled  upon  the  first  intimation  of 
failure  ;  they  seize  the  arsenal,  with  hundreds  of 
weapons  more  than  they  can  use,   and,   having 


THANKSGIVING  DAY.  389 

seized  it,  they  appeal  to  the  slave  to  strike  for 
liberty  and  aggrandizement — the  strongest  ap- 
peal possible  to  the  human  heart.  It  does  seem, 
with  all  these  circumstances  in  their  favor,  they 
would  have  succeeded  ;  but,  look  at  the  result. 
Only  three  or  four  of  our  citizens  killed,  and 
nearly  a  dozen  of  the  insurgents  killed  outright, 
with  six  others  since  condemned  to  a  felon's 
death,  and  a  few  only  escaped.  Here  we  can 
and  should  recognize  the  hand  of  God,  and  to 
Him,  for  these  especial  blessings  in  preserving 
peace  and  life,  our  gratitude  and  Thanksgiving 
should  go  up. 

Finally,  we  have  many  blessings  for  which  to 
offer  our  Thanksgiving  on  this  day.  Our  educa- 
tional advantages  are  unsurpassed.  Every  facil- 
ity for  intellectual  improvement  and  the  develop- 
ment of  the  mind  is  enjoyed  by  us.  Academies, 
and  colleges,  and  seminaries  stand  thick  all  over 
our  land,  with  open  halls.  Nor  is  this  education 
confined  to  the  few,  but  it  is  brought  down  within 
reach  of  the  masses.  Churches  of  Ood,  too,  lift 
their  spires  and  ring  their  inviting  bells  in  every 
village  and  hamlet ;  scattered,  too,  they  are  in 
quiet  groves,  so  that  the  devout  worshipper  may 
assemble  with  the  people  of  Grocl  on  every  hill 
and  in  every  vale,  and  hear  the  story  of  the  Cross 
and  catch  from  the  altars  of  GJ-od  kindlings  of  His 
love.     Then,  as  we  come  to-day  in  His  sanctuary, 


390  SERMONS. 

let  our  hearts  swell  and  throb  with  emotions  of 
gratitude  and  love  ;  let  fresh  incense  rise  from 
our  altars  ;  let  us  "  enter  into  His  gates  with 
Thanksgiving  and  into  His  courts  with  praise,  be 
thankful  unto  Him  and  bless  His  name.77 


living  to  $oft. 


"For  none  of  us  liveth  to  himself,  and  no  man  dieth  to  himself." 

Kom.  xiv,  7. 


The  Greek  writers  used  the  phrase  which  the 
Apostle  has  adopted  here,  and  which  is  translated 
"liveth  to  himself,"  to  signify  acting  according 
to  one's  own  judgment  or  one's  own  opinion. 
His  teaching  here  is  that  none  of  us  must  do  this, 
but  rather  act  according  to  God's  judgment  and 
opinion  ;  or,  in  other  words,  we  must  endeavor  to 
please  God  by  doing  His  will  and  not  our  own. 
In  view  of  the  responsibility  of  each  to  God,  we 
also  understand  the  Apostle  to  teach,  that  such  is 
our  connection  with  each  other,  that  we  do  not 
and  cannot  live  independently  ;  that  our  connec- 
tional  relations  are  such  that  we  necessarily  exer- 
cise an  influence  over  each  other  for  weal  or  woe, 
not  only  by  our  lives,  but  also  by  our  deaths. 
"None  of  us  liveth  to  himself,  and  no  man  dieth 
to  himself."  Common  ties  bind  us  together,  and 
these  connect  with  the  cable  that  binds  us  to  God. 


LIVING  TO  GOD.  391 

We  look  over  the  face  of  the  country,  and  at  the 
first  glance  the  evidences  seem  to  conflict  with 
the  statement  of  the  Apostle.  Each  man  seems 
to  be  forming  his  own  plans,  bending  his  energies 
upon  his  own  occupations  without  reference  at  all 
to  the  occupation  or  pursuit  of  his  neighbor  ;  and, 
therefore,  seems  to  be  living  to  himself.  If  we 
stop  here  in  our  investigation,  it  would  be  partial 
and  imperfect.  He  who  has  no  other  view  of 
his  actions  and  obligations  than  this,  and  no  other 
knowledge  of  the  nature  of  communities  and  so- 
ciety, has  examined  this  subject  very  slightly,  or 
to  very  little  purpose.  G-ocl  has  made  us  social 
beings.  We  naturally  herd  together  in  society. 
Our  interests,  consequently,  both  temporal  and 
spiritual,  are  so  interwoven,  interlapped,  that  we 
are  naturally  dependent  upon  each  other  ;  hence 
there  is  not,  and  cannot  be,  any  plan,  however 
personal  or  private  in  its  conception,  that,  in  its 
accomplishment,  will  not  reach  out  into  the  com- 
munity to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  and  connect 
itself,  directly  or  indirectly  with  plans  of  others. 
Take  an  illustration  which  bears  exclusively 
upon  temporal  interests.  The  agriculturist,  per- 
haps the  most  independent  character  in  our  midst, 
and  who  may  be  said  to  come  nearest  living  to 
himself,  is,  by  his  most  abstract  and  personal 
plans,  connected  with  the  great  world  of  trade 
and  commerce.     The  seeds  he  scatters  in  his  fur- 


392  SERMONS. 

rows,  the  golden  harvests  which  he  gathers  into 
his  barns,  are  given  in  exchange  for  merchandise 
essential  to  his  comfort,  which  he  does  not  and 
cannot  produce  on  his  farm.  But  it  may  be 
alleged  that  if  a  man  choose  he  may  separate  him- 
self from  society,  adopt  the  life  of  a  hermit,  and 
live  to  himself.  If  one  man  may,  all  may  ;  and 
if  all  may  not,  neither  may  one  do  it ;  for  our 
obligations,  so  far  as  we  are  enabled  to  under- 
stand them,  are  equally  binding.  The  tendency 
and  inevitable  effect  of  this  thing  would  be  to 
break  down  society,  destroy  government,  blot 
out  the  light  of  civilization  and  evangelization, 
and  convert  our  fair  world  into  a  wilderness  and 
desert.  There  can  be  but  one  sentiment,  there- 
fore, in  regard  to  it.  From  the  influence  which 
arises  from  action,  either  good  or  pernicious,  no 
man  can  withdraw  himself  from  society  and  live 
in  seclusion  without  affecting  society  ;  and,  there- 
fore, in  becoming  a  hermit,  the  influence  of  the 
act,  inclining  others  to  adopt  the  same  course,  or 
causing  them  to  look  with  disgust  upon  it,  pre- 
cludes the  idea  of  living  to  himself. 

Even  allow  that  he  could  separate  himself  from 
society  without  the  effect  we  have  noticed,  he  can 
never  separate  himself  from  God;  for  if  he  takes 
the  wings  of  the  morning  and  flies  to  the  utter- 
most parts  of  the  earth,  God  is  even  there,  and 
his  obligation  to  God  cannot  be  bi;oken  by  it. 


LIVING  TO  GOD.  393 

G-od.  has  assigned  to  each  a  part  to  perform ;  He 
has  made  it  obligatory  upon  all  to  bear  each 
other's  burdens,  and  no  man  by  any  act  of  his 
own  can  throw  off  this  obligation.  If  a  man, 
then,  who  puts  himself  in  a  care  or  in  solitude, 
lives  not  to  himself,  how  much  less  does  he  do  it 
who  moves  in  the  social  world.  How  great  is  the 
influence  which  each  man  casts  upon  the  side  of 
good  or  evil  day  after  day  by  his  actions.  This 
is  a  fearful  reflection.  Society  is  composed  of 
elements — each  man  is  a  constituent  part — and 
as  his  character  is  good  or  bad.  just  to  that  ex- 
tent will  that  society  be  good  or  bad  of  which  he 
is  an  ingredient.  In  this  way  every  man  becomes 
a  focus  from  which  radiates  influences  that  spread 
themselves  through  society ;  and  the  influence 
which  each  individual  sends  out  is  either  of  a 
purifying  or  corrupting  character.  When  the 
state  of  things  is  bad  in  a  community;  when  vice 
is  reigning  triumphant,  desolating  our  country ; 
when  sin  and  wickedness  stalk  abroad  in  the 
light  of  day  unblushingly;  when  the  multitude  is 
always  ready  to  do  evil:  when  the  broad  road 
that  leads  down  to  hell  is  thronged  with  all 
classes,  and  ages,  and  conditions,  it  behooves  each 
one  whose  heart  is  not  hardened  and  whose  con- 
science is  not  hushed,  to  pause  and  inquire  in  how 
far  he  or  she  contributes  to  this  state  of  things. 
Perhaps  you  will  find,  if  you  are  not  increasing 

13 


394  SERMONS. 

by  example,  you   are   permitting   by   failing  to 
bring  to  bear  upon  it  your  influence  as  a  check. 

But  we  have  on  this  occasion  to  speak  particu- 
larly of  the  Christian.  He  liveth  not  to  himself 
nor  clieth  to  himself.  He  has  the  weight  of  the 
foregoing  considerations  bearing  upon  him  with 
equal  force,  and  in  addition  the  binding  power  of 
God's  word  and  commandments,  which  he  has  by 
solemn  vow  taken  upon  himself.  He  acknow- 
ledges that  he  is  God's  steward,  that  he  is  not  his 
own,  that  he  is  bought  with  a  price,  and  that 
therefore  he  is  to  glorify  God  in  his  body  and 
spirit,  which  are  His,  "for  whether  we  live  we 
live  unto  the  Lord,  and  whether  we  die  we  die 
unto  the  Lord."  Now,  in  view  of  these  facts,  and 
in  the  face  of  his  acceptance  of  them  by  a  solemn 
pledge  to  a  faithful  performance  of  them,  how 
can  the  Christian  think  of  living  to  himself — of 
having  plans,  or  schemes,  or  arrangements,  that 
do  not  look  to  the  glory  of  God  or  the  advance- 
ment of  his  cause  ?  How  can  he  use  his  time,  his 
talents,  or  his  money,  without  having  reference  to 
God  ?  God  requires  that  you  must  provide  for 
yourself  and  household.  He  allows  you  to  use 
enough  of  what  means  he  has  entrusted  to  your 
care  for  this  purpose.  He  requires  you  to  devote 
enough  of  your  time  and  talents  which  he  has 
given  you,  to  make  you  comfortable,  and  those 
dependent  upon  you.     But  remember  that  you 


LIVING  TO  GOD.  395 

are  by  no  means  to  live  to  yourself.  You  are 
His,  and  He  is  going  to  reward  you  well  for  it ; 
but  if  you  choose  to  draw  back  and  live  for  the 
devil,  you  will  get  what  pay  the  devil  gives,  and 
God's  eternal  curse  for  want  of  faithfulness  to 
Him. 

But  let  us  look  to  this  subject  a  little  more  par- 
ticularly. In  what  way  does  or  may  the  Chris- 
tian live  to  the  Lord?  First,  by  giving  proper 
direction  to  his  influence.  Every  Christian  has 
his  influence,  from  the  highest  stations  down  to 
the  humblest,  and  this  influence  is  exerted  for  or 
against  the  Lord,  in  whatever  circle  he  moves. 
In  the  domestic  circle  this  influence,  if  he  be  a 
father  or  mother,  is  unbounded.  Parents  have  no 
choice  in  this  matter.  Whether  they  will  or  no, 
their  conduct  affects  the  destiny  of  their  families. 
Their  outgoing  and  their  incoming  either  brings 
peace,  and  blessings,  and  good,  or  it  mars  and 
corrupts  it.  This  is  not  all.  The  influence  aris- 
ing from  the  domestic  circle  is  not  temporary,  but 
the  material  upon  which  this  influence  operates  is 
eternal.  Every  father  and  mother,  whether  they 
will  or  no,  is  giving  an  impress  which  time  will 
not  efface.  They  are  sowing  seed,  too,  that  will 
produce  more  than  one  crop — seeds  that,  germin- 
ating in  the  hearts  of  their  immediate  offspring, 
will  be  found  in  after  years  reproducing  crops 
upon  the  hearts  of  generations  yet  unborn,  away 


396  SERMONS. 

down  in  future.  It  is  a  fearful  thought  for  the 
parent,  that  so  much  of  the  formation  of  the  des- 
tiny of  his  children  is  in  his  own  hands.  The 
Christian  lives  to  the  Lord  hj  constantly  watch- 
ing, and  exerting  his  influence  in  training  his 
family  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord. 
Again,  he  lives  to  the  Lord  by  giving  his  influ- 
ence, as  a  member  of  Christ's  Church,  a  proper 
direction.  As  a  member  of  Christ's  mystical 
bod}^  on  earth,  every  Christian  has  his  influence. 
Some  Christians  conclude  that  because  they  are 
poor,  or  obscure  in  social  life,  have  limited  tal- 
ents, that  they  are  not  of  much  account,  have 
little  or  no  influence.  This  is  a  mistake.  It 
should  be  remembered  that  in  this  system  it  is 
not  the  highest  marks  that  shine  the  brightest ; 
those  that  get  down  the  lowest  in  humility  serve 
as  the  best  reflectors.  A  man  may  get  so  high  as 
to  be  above  the  light,  but  humbling  himself  the 
light  is  sure  to  fall  upon  him,  and  if  it  falls  it 
will  be  sure  to  be  reflected.  The  least  tap  in 
machinery,  too,  is  essential  to  the  proper  and 
complete  working  of  machinery,  as  well  as  the 
huge  bolt  that  binds  the  parts  together.  It  may 
not  exert  so  great  an  influence,  but  the  influence 
it  does  exert  is  as  essential.  The  heart  of  the 
humblest  Christian  uplifted  to  God  in  prayer, 
earnest,  faithful  prayer,  will  especially  call  down 
God's  blessings  and  turn  God's  haud  to  work  for 


LIVING  TO  GOD.  397 

His  Church,  as  well  as  the  prayer  of  the  great 
heart  of  the  prince  in  Israel.  This,  however, 
does  not  lessen  the  importance  to  be  attached  to 
the  influence  of  the  more  prominent  and  leading 
members  of  the  Church.  You  live  to  the  Lord  in 
that  in  everything,  if  you  are  true  to  Him,  you 
illustrate  what  He  says  may  be  accomplished  by 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  through  faith  in 
Christ.  The  Lord  says  that  the  heart  can  by 
faith  in  Christ  be  changed,  that  the  carnal  appe- 
tites and  passions  may  be,  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
conquered  and  driven  from  the  heart,  that  tem- 
perance may  be  substituted  for  intemperance, 
patience  for  murmuring,  love  for  malice,  and 
whilst  He  declares  this  in  His  word,  you  stand 
out  before  the  world  as  a  proof  of  it,  as  a  living 
witness.  Now  take  care !  How  cautious  and 
careful  you  should  be  on  this  account,  for  it  is  in 
your  power  to  do  immense  mischief  to  the  cause 
of  the  Lord.  See  how  you  may  do  it.  The 
world  is  taught  that  the  spirit  of  anger,  and  mal= 
ice,  and  evil-speaking,  and  intemperance,  and 
dishonesty  in  trade  and  bargaining,  can  all  be 
taken  away  by  the  cleansing  influence  of  the 
blood  of  Christ ;  you  profess  to  the  world  that 
you  have  felt  that  influence,  and  at  the  same  time 
show  that  these  things  have  not  been  taken  away 
from  you.  Now,  the  injury  to  be  done  by  you, 
is  making  the  impression  upon  the  minds  of  those 


398  SERMONS. 

who  do  not  understand  these  things,  whose  hearts 
are  blinded  by  sin,  that  God's  word  is  false,  that 
it  has  no  such  power.  They  overlook  the  fact 
that  you  are  the  one  that  is  false.  If  you  under- 
take to  live  for  God,  then,  be  very  watchful  and 
careful  lest  you  do  Him  greater  injury  than  good, 
by  being  unfaithful  yourself. 

Illustrating  the  truth  of  God's  word,  however, 
you  become  the  light  of  the  world.  Striving  to 
enter  in  at  the  strait  gate,  adorning  your  life 
with  graces  and  virtues  of  a  holy  living,  you  live 
not  to  yourself,  for,  whilst  you  tread  in  the  foot- 
steps of  the  Saviour,  you  reflect  back  upon  the 
path  of  duty  ;  you  have  too  the  light  of  his  exam- 
ple ;  thus  discovering  the  way,  you  stand  as  a 
beacon  to  point  out  the  course  to  others  through 
the  wilderness  to  the  heavenly  Canaan.  Take 
care,  therefore,  to  keep  your  light  shining  in  the 
right  place.  If  you  would  live  to  the  Lord — if 
you  would  by  your  influence  turn  men  to  Christ — 
always  keep  your  light  beaming  out  from  behind 
the  Cross. 

Whilst  no  man  liveth  to  himself,  no  man  dieth 
to  himself.  The  Lord  is  God  of  the  dead  as  well 
as  of  the  living.  One  of  the  great  fundamental 
doctrines  of  the  Gospel  is  the  triumph  of  Christ- 
ianity over  death.  Death  is  a  terror  to  us  all. 
It  shocks  our  nerves.  There  is  something  about 
it  that  renders  it  appalling.     We  find  ourselves 


LIVING  TO  GOD.  399 

secretly  wishing  that  there  was  no  dark  valley 
and  shadow;  not  that  we  would  stay  here  always, 
but  that  we  might  walk  from  earth  upon  the 
heavenly  soil,  or  pass  from  one  habitation  to  an- 
other without  submitting  to  death  and  its  attend- 
ing circumstances  ;  that  we  might  step  across  the 
grave  instead  of  lying  down  in  it.  But  to  gain 
heaven  we  must  all  die.  The  Christian  must  die, 
but  his  death  amounts  only  to  going  through  the 
form. 

"  Faith,  builds  a  bridge  across  the  gulf  of  death, 
To  break  the  shock  blind  nature  cannot  shun ; 
And  lands  the  soul  smoothly  on  the  farther  shore." 

And  the  Christian  dies  not  to  himself,  in  that  he 
illustrates  this  great  truth.  His  life  furnishes 
testimony  to  a  part  of  the  teaching,  and  his  death, 
before  our  enraptured  gaze,  furnishes  proof  sub- 
lime and  convincing  to  the  balance.  He  dies 
alone,  it  is  true,  in  one  sense  of  the  word.  We  go 
with  him  as  far  as  we  can— we  bend  over  the 
coffin,  pressing  up  to  the  very  gates,  but  he  dies 
alone  ;  but  not  to  himself.  The  smile  that  lights 
up  his  pale  face,  is  evidence  for  the  truth  of  God, 
like  that  which  was  furnished  by  the  flashing 
countenance  of  Lazarus,  as,  with  his  grave  clothes 
and  napkin,  he  starts  out  of  his  death-bed  at  the 
bidding  of  the  Saviour.  The  soft  and  gentle 
beaming  of  his  death-struck  eye  furnishes  proof  of 
God's  word,  akin  to  that  which  was  given  by  the 


400  SERMONS. 

eyes  of  Bartimeus.  The  last  sweet  words  from 
his  dying  lips  say  in  melody  sweet  as  the  music 
of  heaven,  "Yea,  though  I  walk  through  the  val- 
ley of  the  shadow  of  death,  I  will  fear  no  evil  : 
for  Thou  art  with  me  ;  Thy  rod  and  Thy  staff  they 
comfort  me." 


M*  §wm&  of  *M  §ol»0. 

"  And  let  tis  not  be  weary  in  well  doing ;  for  in  due  season  we  skaU  rea$, 
if  we  faint  not." — Gal.,  vi,  9. 


Paul,  in  writing  to  Timothy,  after  exhorting 
him  to  reprove,  rebuke  and  exhort  with  all  long 
suffering,  said,  that  the  time  would  come  when 
the  Church  would  endure  sound  doctrine — that  is, 
the  plain,  pointed  preaching  of  the  word  of  truth. 
Whether  that  time  has  come  with  you  we  will  see 
presently.  In  the  reflections  we  shall  submit  we 
are  actuated  alone  by  a  sense  of  duty  and  your 
good.  Nothing  harsh  shall  escape  my  lips,  because 
it  is  not  in  my  feelings,  and  yet  I  feel  at  the  same 
time  that  I  have  only  the  fear  of  God  before  me, 
and  not  the  fear  of  man  in  any  degree  whatever. 
With  prayer  and  trust  in  God  let  us  proceed. 

' '  Man  is  as  prone  to  evil  as  the  sparks  to  fly 
upwards."  As  the  excited,  unthinking  horse  rushes 
into   battle,  as   the   ox  drinketh  up  the  water, 


THE  REWARD  OF  WELL  DOING.  401 

as  the  ship  glides  before  the  wind,  so  man  flows 
into  the  current  of  evil,  that  soon  bears  him  off 
into  the  unfathomable  sea  of  vice  and  wickedness. 
The  secret,  the  key,  which  unlocks  the  mystery  of 
his  conduct  in  the  face  of  acknowledged  sin  is, 
that  there  is  a  sort  of  momentary  pleasure  to  the 
carnal  heart  in  doing  evil.  But  it  should  never 
be  forgotten  that  the  pleasures  of  sin  are  but  for 
a  season.  With  this  strong,  natural  predilection  to 
sin,  it  requires  constant  effort — effort  amounting 
to  a  struggle — to  breast  the  current,  to  rise  above 
this  influence  and  do  well.  And  unless  the  heart 
be  renewed — its  carnality  destroyed,  and  oppo- 
site principles  and  desires  be  inwrought  in  the  soul, 
it  is  utterly  useless  for  an  individual,  though  he 
may  have  through  the  spirit  some  desire  excited 
to  do  good,  to  hope  to  be  able  to  cease  to  do  evil, 
and  learn  to  do  well.  God's  especial,  gracious 
aid  must  be  secured.  But  if  he  has  so  far  com- 
plied with  God's  requirements  as  to  seek  and  ob- 
tain regeneration,  and  continues  obediently  seek- 
ing, through  the  means  of  grace  instituted,  aid 
from  God's  Holy  Spirit,  he  may  continue  in  well 
doing  to  the  end  without  becoming  weary.  "  Let 
us  not  be  weary  in  well  doing." 

Let  us  here  define  what  is  meant  bj^  well  doing. 
We  understand  the  phrase  as  synonymous  with 
working  righteousness,  which  embraces  all  our 
personal  and  relative  duties  as  embodied  in  the 

IS* 


402  SERMONS. 

gospel.  A  man  may  be  said  to  be  doing  well,  at 
least  to  a  certain  extent,  who  is  discharging  his 
personal  duties.  What  are  some  of  these?  Let 
us  enumerate — and  now,  brethren,  go  along  with 
me  in  enumerating,  compare  yourself,  contrast 
your  actions  with  the  rule  laid  down.  If  you 
want  to  be  benefited,  take  them  up  one  by  one, 
and  see  how  you  are  discharging  them — not  how 
your  brother  is  discharging  them,  but  how  you 
are.  Thou  art  the  man  to  whom  I  am  talking,  and 
not  thy  brother. 

First,  the  searching  of  the  Scriptures  is  one  of 
your  personal  duties.  I  am  not  going  to  stop  to 
show  the  importance  of  searching  them,  to  recount 
the  benefits  arising  from  it.  This  would  be  need- 
less. I  simply  give  you  the  command  of  the 
Saviour;  "Search  the  Scriptures."  How  have 
you  discharged  this  duty  ?  How  many  chapters 
did  you  read  the  last  week,  the  last  month  or  the 
last  year  ?  How  did  you  read  what  you  did 
read  ?  Did  }rou  read  it  as  a  task,  without  atten- 
tion, without  understanding,  without  prayer?  I 
submit  the  question,  are  you  doing  well  in  this 
respect  ? 

Prayer  is  one  of  your  personal  duties.  The 
command  is,  pray  always — that  is,  have  the  spirit 
of  prayer  constantly.  Enter  into  your  closet  and 
shut  the  door,  and  pray  to  your  Father,  who  is  in 
secret.     Do   you  faithfully  discharge  this  duty? 


THE  REWARD  OF  WELL  DOING.  403 

Now  be  honest  with  yourselves,  how  often  do  you 
pray  in  the  day?  once,  twice,  or  three  times? 
^Daniel  opened  his  window  towards  Jerusalem,  and 
prayed  three  times  a  day.  Am  I  addressing  at 
this  time  one  professing  Christian  who  neglects 
this  duty  ?  If  so,  how  entirely  gone  is  your  com- 
fort, how  dark  and  darker  every  day  is  becoming 
your  future  prospect.  It  is  impossible  that  you 
can  be  a  Christian,  do  well,  without  being  fre- 
quent and  earnest  in  prayer. 

Another  important  personal  duty  is  to  regulate 
your  thoughts  and  conversations.  Do  you  hate 
vain  thoughts  ?  Is  your  conversation  in  Heaven  ? 
Or  is  it  mostly  light  and  trifling  and  worldly,  such 
as  tends  neither  to  the  glory  of  God  nor  the 
salvation  of  anybody.  How  many  sinners  have- 
been  cut  to  the  heart  by  words  uttered  from  your 
lips  ?  How  many  words  have  you  ever  spoken 
designing  this  effect?     Are  you  doing  well  here  ? 

Agaiu,  do  you  meet  your  class  ?  I  have  rarely 
ever  seen  a  Methodist  who  would  not  acknow- 
ledge the  personal  benefit  of  class  meetings.  All 
acknowledge  this,  yet,  when  were  you  at  a  class 
meeting  last  ? 

Another  personal  duty  is  to  attend  the  commu- 
nion. Do  you  regularly  commune,  or  do  you 
absent  yourself  from  the  Lord's  Table  ?  When 
a  member  of  the  Church  deliberately  turns  his 
back  on  the  Lord's  Table,  Christ  is  hurt  in  the 
house  of  His  friends,  His  wounds  bleed  afresh,  it 


404  SERMONS. 

is  in  effect  saying,  telling  Christ  to  His  face,  and 
publicly  too,  I  will  not  obey  Thy  command,  "Do 
this  in  remembrance  of  Me."  If  you  are  sin- 
cerely endeavoring  to  reach  Heaven,  you  are 
qualified  to  come,  and  no  excuse  will  exonerate 
you.  Doing  well,  implies  a  discharge  of  all  these 
duties  ;  but  this  is  not  all.  These  are  exclu- 
sively personal,  and  look  only  to  yourselves. 
There  are  relative  duties — duties  which  you  owe 
to  others,  equally  as  binding,  without  the  discharge 
of  which  you  cannot  be  said  to  be  doing  well ; 
such  as  visiting  the  sick  and  the  distressed.  St. 
James  says,  "  pure  religion,  and  undenled  before 
God  and  the  Father  is  this,  to  visit  the  fatherless 
and  widows  in  their  affliction  ;"  opening  the 
bowels  of  your  compassion  towards  your  brother 
as  he  hath  need  ;  casting  your  influence  always  on 
the  side  of  the  Lord  ;  always  attending  the  sanc- 
tuary of  God,  if  possible,  glad  when  they  say, 
come,  let  us  go  up  to  the  house  of  the  Lord  ;  erect- 
ing the  family  altar  ;  pointing  your  children  and 
servants  to  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the 
sins  of  the  world  ;  instructing  them  in  the  ways  of 
religion,  and  throwing  around  that  instruction 
the  weight  and  sanctity  of  a  father's  or  mother's 
care  and  authority.  Well  doing  implies  all  these 
things,  and  the  exhortation  of  the  text  is  :  let  us 
not  wreary  in  discharging  them. 

The  time  was  when  you  discharged  them  with 
alacrity  and  delight ;  when  reading  God's  Word 


THE  REWARD  OF  WELL  DOKfl.  405 

was  a  feast  to  your  soul ;  when  prayer  was  your 
"vital  breath,  your  native  air;"  when  your 
thoughts  were  elevated  and  full  of  heaven  ;  when 
the  class  room  was  sought  with  eagerness  ;  when 
at  the  table  of  the  Lord  the  soul  seemed  to  feed 
on  Christ  indeed  as  its  hidden  manna ;  when  with 
holy  pleasure  you  entered  the  chamber  of  the 
sick,  bathed  the  aching  brow,  and  pointed  to  the 
clime  above  where  no  sickness  is  ;  when  you 
gathered  your  family  around  the  humble  altar 
you  had  reared  to  God,  and  trained  them  in  His 
nurture  and  admonition  ;  when  your  pastor 
always  felt  assured  that  you  were  sick,  or  by 
some  cause  beyond  }Tour  control  kept  away,  when 
your  seat  in  the  house  of  God  was  vacant.  Oh  ! 
you  did  run  well  for  awhile — who  did  hinder  you? 
It  is  worth  while  for  us,  as  Christians,  to  think  of 
these  things.  You  do  think  of  them.  In  the 
honest  hour  of  life,  when  alone  and  communing 
with  your  own  heart,  the  Spirit  of  God,  your 
friend,  comes,  and  turning  your  thoughts  back 
upon  your  vows,  your  once  high  and  holy  pur- 
poses, then  pointing  to  the  future,  the  flaming 
bar  of  the  judgment,  the  spark  is  struck  anew  on 
your  soul  ;  holy  aspiration,  though  feeble,  is 
kindled  afresh,  and  faint  and  weary,  on  some  cold, 
dark  spot  in  your  experience,  you  cry  : 

."  Where  is  the  blessedness  I  knew 
When  first  I  saw  the  Lord  ? 
Where  is  the  soul-refreshing  view 
Of  Jesus  and  His  Word?" 


406  SERMONS. 

The  question  now  presents  itself  with  cogency, 
and  we  would  press  it  upon  your  consideration  : 
Why  is  this  ?  How  is  this  ?  What  strange  in- 
fatuation is  this  that  comes  over  the  soul,  that 
leads  man  to  act  so  directly  in  opposition  to  all 
the  dictates  of  a  sense  of  duty  ?  Bring  upon  his 
heart  every  hour  the  conviction  that  he  is  living 
in  the  neglect  of  duty  ;  that  God's  disapprobation 
is  visited  upon  him  ;  that  his  enjoyments  are 
gone,  and  utter  the  great  command  in  his  ears  : 
"  Work  while  it  is  day,  for  the  night  cometh 
when  no  man  can  work,"  and  still  he  folds  his 
arms  upon  his  bosom  and  cries,  "  A  little  more 
sleep,  a  little  more  slumber,  a  little  more  folding 
of  the  hands  to  sleep."  Like  a  man  who  is  dying 
with  cold,  who  is  almost  frozen  ;  whose  sensibility 
is  numbed  ;  over  whose  blood  the  death-chill  is 
creeping,  and  sleepiness,  the  sure  harbinger  of 
death,  like  an  atmosphere  of  lead,  rests  upon  his 
frame  ;  although  the  conviction  is  resting  upon  his 
mind  that  his  life  depends  upon  exertion,  yet  he 
quietly  sits  down  upon  the  snow  and  perishes. 
Wrhy,  my  brother,  as  I  would  shake  you  out  of 
your  slumber  to  save  your  natural  life,  much 
more  would  I  arouse  you,  if  I  could,  from  this 
spiritual  slumber  into  which  you  are  falling,,  to 
save  your  spiritual  life.  I  would,  with  the  ap- 
pliances of  truth,  take  hold  of  your  spiritual 
frame  and  shake  the  slumber  off  your  soul.    Give 


THE  REWARD  OF  WELL  DOING.  407 

me  your  ear  and  1  will  sound  in  it,  if  I  can,  in 
trumpet  tones  :  "  Why  stand  ye  here  all  the  day 
idle?" 

Let  us  now  inquire  into  the  cause  of  your  be- 
coming weary  in  well  doing.  It  may  be  summed 
up  in  one  sentence.  There  is  no  need  of  nice 
discrimination,  of  abstruse  reasoning  ;  one  sen- 
tence will  express  it,  and  I  would  send  it  as 
with  a  battery  in  blazing  capitals  upon  your 
heart.  Weary  in  well  doing — cause,  neglect  of 
duty.  It  is  a  plain  case,  a  child  can  understand 
it.  When  neglect  of  duty  commences,  the  supply 
of  grace  begins  to  diminish,  and  without  the  as- 
sistance of  grace,  as  I  remarked  in  the  outset,  we 
cannot  do  well.  God  has  instituted  means  of 
grace  to  be  used  by  us,  as  conditions  upon  which 
He  will  confer  help  ;  when  we  cease  to  use  these 
means  the  divine  help  ceases  to  flow  to  us,  just 
in  proportion  as  we  neglect  the  means — the  con- 
ditions. When  you  ceased  to  read  the  Scrip- 
tures, the  grace  that  was  communicated  through 
that  as  a  means  was  withheld.  When  you  ceased 
to  pray,  you  cut  off  another  source  of  help.  So 
with  all  the  rest.  Just  as  many  means  of  grace 
as  you  have  neglected,  just  so  many  sources  of 
grace  }^ou  have  dried  up,  and  in  this  way  have 
brought  upon  yourself  that  state  of  weariness  in 
well  doing.  Now,  let  me  appeal  to  you  ;  of 
course  those  who  are  not  weary  in  well  doing- 
will  not  feel  the  force  of  what  has  been  said  ;  let 


408  SERMONS. 

me  appeal  to  that  oue  who  has  gone  farthest  in 
neglect  of  duty — if  there  still  lingers  in  your 
heart  an  aspiration  for  heaven,  if  a  spark  of  the 
hallowed  flame  glows  still,  though  feebly,  then 
come  to  the  altars  of  God  and  let  it  be  kindled 
afresh  to-day  ;  come  with  an  humble  heart  and 
say  :  "  Father,  I  have  sinned  against  heaven  and 
in  Thy  sight,  and  am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called 
Thy  son."  Come  thus  and  God  will  meet  you, 
fall  on  your  neck,  and  even  kiss  you. 

We  come  now  in  the  last  place  to  notice  the 
incentive  to  well  doing  set  forth  in  the  text:  "  in 
due  season  we  shall  reap,  if  we  faint  not."  We 
do  not  serve  God  for  naught.  Well  doing  is 
here  represented  as  sowing  seed  that  will  yield  a 
crop.  Life  is  represented  as  a  harvest  field. 
"Whatsoever  a  man  soweth  that  shall  he  also 
reap  ;  he  that  soweth  to  the  flesh  shall  of  the  flesh 
reap  corruption,  but  he  that  soweth  to  the  Spirit 
shall  of  the  Spirit  reap  life  everlasting."  The 
field  upon  which  the  seeds  are  sown  is  divided 
into  two  divisions,  earth  and  heaven.  As  you 
scatter  your  seeds  some  drop  upon  earth,  and, 
watered  by  the  dews  of  God's  grace,  and  warmed 
by  the  genial  rays  of  his  love,  spring  up  imme- 
diately and  you  reap  here.  The  poet  means  this 
when  he  says  : 

"  The  hill  of  Zion  yields 
A  thousand  sacred  sweets, 
Before  we  reach  the  heavenly  fields, 
Or  walk  the  golden  streets." 


THE  REWARD  OF  WELL  DOING.  409 

As  you  sow,  others  are  borne  on  the  wings,  as 
it  were,  of  God's  messengers  and  dropped  on  the 
heavenly  soil.  Whilst  you  are  sowing  and  reap- 
ing below,  these  are  germinating  and  springing  to 
a  harvest  above.  Sow,  then,  in  the  morning  thy 
seed,  and  at  evening  withhold  not  thy  hand,  and 
in  due  season  you  shall  reap.  Sow  by  searching 
the  Scriptures,  and  at  once  you  reap  treasures  of 
wisdom  and  comfort.  Sow  in  the  closet,  and  at 
once  you  reap  supplies  of  grace  to  help  in  time 
of  need.  Sow  in  the  class  room,  and  you  reap  a 
renewal  of  spiritual  strength.  Sow  in  the  tears 
of  the  poor  heart-broken  widow  and  orphan,  by 
mingling  your  tears  with  theirs,  and  you  reap 
their  prayers  of  faith  offered  to  God  with  a  warm 
heart  for  you.  Sow  in  the  sick  man's  chamber, 
and  from  his  death-struck  eye,  as  you  wait 
around  his  bed,  heavenly  light  shall  gleam  on 
your  soul,  and  from  his  quivering,  pallid  lip  you 
shall  reap  strengthening  to  your  hopes  of  heaven. 
Sow  around  the  table  of  the  Lord,  when  spread 
before  you,  and  at  once  you  reap  the  love  that 
glowed  upon  the  great  heart  of  the  Saviour. 

But,  my  friends,  this  is  reversing  somewhat 
the  order  of  husbandry.  The  agriculturist  reaps 
and  then  gleans,  but  this  is  gleaning  first  and 
reaping  afterwards.  When  the  harvest,  the 
gleaning  on  earth,  is  over,  and  the  summer  of 
life  is  ended,  you  shall  be   saved  ;  if  you  have 


410  SERMONS. 

sown  in  well- doing  you  shall  pass  away  to  take 
part  in  the  grand  harvest  above,  where  everlast- 
ing life  is  the  crop.  Ah  !  my  brethren,  it  will 
be  a  grand  thing,  a  grand  sight  when  your  feet 
touch  the  margin  of  that  great  harvest  field  that 
shall  stretch  out  interminably  before  your  eye. 
I  would  like  to  see  it,  The  light  of  God's  smile 
shall  rest  upon  your  brow,  the  breath  of  God's 
approving  voice  shall  be  your  atmosphere  as  you 
put  your  golden  sickle  into  it,  and  as  the  rich 
fruit  shall  fall  upon  your  bosom  before  your 
glittering  blade,  you  shall  lift  up  your  voice  in 
the  grand  harvest  song,  "  unto  Him  that  loved 
us,  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  His  own  blood, 
and  made  us  kings  and  priests  unto  G-od  and 
His  Father,  to  Him  be  glory  and  dominion  for- 
ever and  ever  " — and  there  shall  come  the  swell- 
ing chorus  from  a  thousand  thousand  hearts  : 
"Allelujah!  salvation,  and  glory,  and  honor,  and 
power  unto  the  Lord  our  G-od." 


®tee  that  aw  (SStefet^  haw  p*  j^jwit 

"  Now,  if  any  man  have  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  His." 

Rom.  viii,  9. 

The  grand  characteristic  of  the  Christian  reli- 
gion is  that  it  strikes  right  at  the  heart.  Before 
it  undertakes  to  regulate  the  life,  rule  the  con- 


THOSE  THAT  ARE  CHRIST'S  HAVE  HIS  SPIRIT.      411 

duct,  it  corrects  the  heart.  Here  it  begins  its 
work.  We  are  taught  that  we  must  be  born 
again.  "Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of 
the  Spirit  he  cannot  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of 
God."  John  taught  that  Christ  should  baptize 
with  the  Holy  G-host  as  with  fire,  and  we  are  fur- 
ther taught  that  we  are  sanctified  by  the  Spirit — 
cleansed  by  the  Spirit ;  hence,  if  a  man  would 
know  his  relation  to  Christ,  let  him  know  the 
condition  of  his  heart.  If  he  would  know  whether 
he  is  an  heir  of  salvation,  and  a  joint  heir  with 
Christ,  let  him  not  look  to  the  number  of  prayers 
he  has  offered,  the  good  deeds  he  has  performed, 
the  uprightness  of  his  conduct,  but  to  the  state  of 
his  heart  ;  for  no  matter  how  closely  he  may  ob- 
serve the  forms  of  religion,  how  unexceptionable 
his  life,  if  he  has  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ  he  is 
none  of  His.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  here  called  by 
the  Apostle  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  as  if  he  had  said, 
if  any  man  have  not  the  Holy  Spirit  dwelling  in 
his  heart  as  its  temple,  enlightening  the  mind, 
cleansing  the  soul,  purifying  and  sanctifying  the 
affections,  he  is  not  a  disciple  of  Christ ;  or,  to 
express  it  in  still  more  simple  and  comprehensive 
form,  if  any  man  have  not  the  spirit,  the  mind, 
the  temper,  the  disposition  of  Christ,  he  is  none 
of  his.  Here  we  have  set  forth,  in  clear,  unmis- 
takable terms,  the  test  of  true  discipleship. 

The  proposition  contained  in  this  text,  there- 


412  SERMONS. 

fore,  to  which  we  invite  your  attention,  is  this  : 
In  order  to  inherit  eternal  life  with  Christ  we 
must  have  our  minds  and  hearts  transformed  into 
the  spirit,  and  temper,  and  disposition  of  Christ. 
Christ  is  an  example  for  our  lives,  our  conduct. 
He  dwelt  upon  the  earth,  suffered  evil,  endured 
persecution  and  temptation,  that  He  might,  by 
example,  teach  us  how  to  live.  But  this  is  not 
all :  He  was,  and  He  is  set  forth  as  the  pattern  into 
the  likeness  of  which  we  must  be  spiritually  fash- 
ioned. We  are  not  only  required  to  be  like  Him 
in  conduct,  in  behavior,  but  also  in  temper  and 
disposition.  We  look  upon  Christ's  external  con- 
duct, see  Him  going  about  doing  good,  without  sin, 
blameless  in  all  his  life,  and  we  are  captivated 
by  the  loveliness  of  His  character,  and  feel  up- 
rising in  us  a  disposition  to  conform  our  conduct 
to  His.  But  whilst  this  example  is  captivating, 
let  us  go  further.  Let  us  look  at  that  spiritual 
image  which  He  presents,  into  which  we  must  be 
transformed  before  we  can  fully  imitate  Him  in 
our  behavior,  before  we  can  truly  be  His  and  in- 
herit eternal  life. 

No  spectacle  can  be  exhibited  so  sublime,  so 
pure,  so  ennobling,  so  elevating,  so  enrapturing, 
as  the  spiritual  image  which  Christ  presents. 
Such  is  its  power  that,  yielding  our  hearts  to  the 
influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  Ave  gaze  upon  it 
with  open  face,  beholding  as  in  a  glass  the  glory 


THOSE  THAT  ARE  CHRIST'S  HAVE  HIS  SPIRIT.      413 

of  the  Lord,  we  are  changed  into  the  same  image, 
from  glory  to  glory,  even  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord.  Under  the  applying  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  like  a  refiner's  fire,  it  purges  away  our 
carnality. 

Now  let  us  take  up  some  of  the  features  of  this 
spiritual  image  or  picture.  The  first  which  stands 
out  prominently  is  humility.  See,  He  who  thought 
it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God,  made  Him- 
self of  no  reputation,  and  took  upon  Him  the  form 
of  a  servant,  and  took  up  His  bed  in  a  manger, 
with  no  wealth,  nor  worldly  power,  nor  influence, 
nor  patronage,  nor  pageant.  The  humility  He 
possessed,  humbled  under  a  sense  of  human  woe 
and  weakness,  sustained  in  that  humility  by  the 
divinity  of  His  nature,  lay  low  in  the  sight  of  the 
Father,  and  of  angels,  and  of  men.  Did  He  blush 
when  His  admirers  looked  for  the  first  time  upon 
Him,  when  the  wise  men  saluted  Him?  He  was 
an  infant,  but  He  knew  He  was  an  infant  God. 
What  an  exhibition  of  humility ! — the  strongest 
blow  ever  struck  at  pride.  Now,  in  order  to  be 
His,  we  must  be  willing  to  get  down  with  Him  in 
His  humiliation,  for  unless  we  have  His  spirit  of 
humility  we  are  none  of  His.  "  God  resisteth  the 
proud,  but  giveth  grace  unto  the  humble." 
"Whosoever  exalteth  himself  shall  be  abased, 
and  he  that  humbleth  himself  shall  be  exalted." 
That  individual  who  has  an  unreasonable  conceit 


414  SERMONS. 

of  his  or  her  own  superiority  in  talents,  beauty, 
wealth,  accomplishments,  rank,  or  elevation  in 
office,  which  manifests  itself  generally  in  lofty 
airs,  and  often  in  contempt  of  others,  has  not  the 
Spirit  of  Christ,  and,  consequently,  is  none  of  His. 
Now,  let  a  man  look  upon  Christ  in  His  sublime 
humility,  see  His  greatness,  equal  with  God  in 
power,  and  glory,  and  wisdom,  and  yet  he  gets 
down  in  a  manger  for  man.  This  thought  seems 
to  me  to  be  enough  to  shame  away  a  poor, 
weak,  frail,  sinful  man's  pride.  It  seems  to  me 
if  he  would  gaze  upon  Christ  and  think  of  himself, 
he  would  shrink  away  from  his  great  pretensions, 
sneak  down  from  his  high  place  of  pride,  and  be 
right  glad  to  hide  in  the  dust. 

As  we  gaze  upon  this  spiritual  image,  a  lovely 
group  presents  itself  strikingly  in  the  picture. 
We  see  meekness,  patience  and  forgiveness  ;  or, 
to  express  it  differently,  gentleness,  submission 
to  the  divine  will,  suffering  provocation  or  evil 
with  a  calm,  unruffled  temper,  and  praying 
and  pardoning  His  offenders.  The  first  is  suffi- 
ciently set  forth  in  one  act  of  His.  When 
the  weight  of  man's  guilt  was  pressing  Him 
sorely,  when  God's  wrath  was  being  hotly 
poured  out  upon  Him,  insomuch  that  it  wrung 
from  His  lips  the  prayer,  "Father,  if  Thou  be 
willing,  remove  this  cup  from  Me,"  His  sub- 
mission   was    set    forth    in    those    other    words, 


THOSE  THAT  ARE  CHRIST'S  HAVE  HIS  SPIRIT.      415 

"nevertheless,  not  My  will,  but  Thine,  be  done." 
Here  we  see  the  snbliniest  submission  to  the 
divine  will  without  complaint  and  with  gentle- 
ness. The  second  is  clearly  manifested  amidst 
the  evils  and  injuries  inflicted  upon  Him.  He 
was  mocked  and  spit  upon,  His  jaws  were  slapped, 
His  back  was  beaten,  and  He  was  finally  led  as  a 
lamb  to  the  slaughter ;  and  He  endured  it  all  pa- 
tiently, and  resisted  not.  He  was  reviled,  but 
He  reviled  not  again;  He  was  slandered,  but  He 
sued  not;  He  was  stricken,  but  struck  not  back 
again.  The  third  is  strikingly  exhibited  on  the 
Cross.  When  they  were  putting  Him  to  death, 
shouting  in  scorn  and  derision  around  Him,  wet- 
ting His  parched,  quivering  lips  with  gall  and 
vinegar,  He  uttered  the  prayer,  "Father,  for- 
give them,  they  know  not  what  they  do."  Now, 
if  a  man  would  know  whether  he  is  Christ's — a 
true  disciple — let  him  see  whether  these  graces 
cluster  around  his  own  heart.  When  God  strikes 
in  His  providence,  lays  the  hand  of  affliction 
heavily  upon  him,  snatches  away  his  loved  ones, 
sweeps  away  his  property,  wrecks  his  health, 
unless  he  can  adopt  the  language  of  Christ,  "not 
my  will,  but  Thine,  be  done,"  he  has  not  His 
spirit  and  is  none  of  His.  When  he  is  badly 
treated  by  evil  disposed  persons,  when  they  mock 
him,  and  persecute  him,  and  point  the  linger  of 
scorn  at  him,  can  he  bear  it  patiently  wilhout 


416  SERMONS. 

resentment?  Can  he  keep  from  recompensing 
evil  for  evil?  Can  lie  overcome  evil  with  good? 
Some  of  our  hot-blooded  Christians  in  these  latter 
times  are  strangers  to  this  principle.  They  return 
railing  for  railing,  evil  for  evil,  and  good  only  for 
good.  Let  me  declare  unto  you  the  whole  law, 
however  severe  it  may  be,  and  however  much 
you  may  feel  condemned  by  it,  unless  you  have 
the  spirit  of  Christ  in  this  respect  you  are  none  of 
His.  When  you  are  offended  against  can  you 
forgive  ?  Some  say  they  can  forgive,  but  they 
can't  forget;  and  I  always  set  it  clown  when  I 
hear  people  make  this  remark  that  they  have  not 
forgiven.  There  is  a  lingering  spirit  of  unfor- 
giveness  away  down  there  in  the  heart  that 
prompts  the  utterance  of  this  expression.  Now, 
if  you  mean  by  this  that  as  a  matter  of  memory 
you  cannot  forget  an  injur}"  or  offence,  very  well, 
for  we  cannot  make  ourselves  forget  things  of  this 
kind — that  is,  we  cannot  keep  the  mind  from  re- 
taining a  memory  of  it;  but  it  is  generally  the 
case  that  this  saying  means  more  than  a  mere  re- 
tention of  the  fact  in  memory,  it  generally  means 
that  we  have  not  quite  forgiven.  We  are  to 
expect  forgiveness  only  as  we  forgive,  and  our 
Saviour  has  taught  us  to  pray  for  that  kind  of 
forgiveness  ;  and  we  are  not  onl}r  to  forgive  our- 
selves, but  if  we  have  His  spirit,  we  are  even  to 
pray  the  Father  to  forgive  them.  If  we  have  this 
spirit  then  we  are  His. 


THOSE  THAT  ARE  CHRI3TS  HAVE  HIS  SPIRIT.      417 

Again,  as  we  gaze  upon  this  spiritual  picture 
love  presents  itself.  Unless  we  love  like  Christ 
we  are  none  of  His.  See  how  He  loved,  not  only 
His  friends,  but  His  enemies.  His  great  mission 
on  earth  was  in  obedience  to  the  prompting  of 
the  great  love  of  His  heart;  and  at  every  step  He 
took,  in  every  act,  we  see  His  love.  Love  humil- 
iated Him  and  carried  Him  down  into  the  stable 
manger;  love  carried  Him  to  the  widow's  cottage 
to  comfort  her ;  love  carried  Him  to  the  grave  of 
Lazarus  and  gushed  tears  from  His  eyes ;  love 
rolled  Him  in  bloody  sweat  on  the  ground ;  love 
carried  Him  to  Calvary,  and  so  much  of  it  did  He 
have  in  His  nature  that  He  breathes  there  a  prayer 
for  those  who  kill  Him ;  and  such  a  burning  love 
for  dying  sinners  did  He  have,  that  while  there 
suspended  on  the  Cross,  amid  all  the  groans  and 
agonies  of  His  death  hour,  rocked  in  the  very 
throes  of  the  death  struggle,  He  forgot  His  own 
sufferings  long  enough  to  promise  the  dying  thief 
by  His  side  a  residence  in  heaven.  "Greater 
love  hath  no  man  than  this." 

Now,  if  we  are  Christ's,  we  have  His  spirit  in 
this  particular.  In  order  that  we  have  the  spirit 
of  Christ,  we  must  lay  our  hearts  upon  the  great 
beating  heart  of  Christ  and  have  them  quickened 
by  the  love  that  pulsates  in  the  bosom  of  a 
Saviour.  The  great  requisition  made  on  the 
Christian  is  to  love  God  with  all  the  heart,  soul, 

19 


418  SERMONS. 

mind  and  strength,  and  to  love  his  neighbor  as 
himself.  Have  yon  this  spirit  ?  Do  you  love 
God  thus  ?  Do  you  love  your  neighbor  as  your- 
self? Do  you  love  your  enemies?  If  not,  you 
have  not  the  spirit  of  Christ.  "Ah,  but,"  says 
one,  "we  can't  love  our  neighbors  as  ourselves." 
The  reason  is,  we  love  ourselves  too  much — our 
hearts  are  so  full  of  self  that  we  have  not  room 
for  either  God  or  our  neighbor.  The  great  thing 
for  us  to  do  is  to  get  self  out  of  our  hearts — love 
ourselves  less,  and  then  we  can  love  God  and  our 
neighbor  more.  It  would  be  impossible  for  many 
of  us  to  love  God  or  our  neighbors  as  we  love 
ourselves,  simply  because  we  love  ourselves  too 
much.  Crowd  self  out  of  your  heart,  and  then 
you  will  have  more  room  for  God  and  your  neigh- 
bor. And  as  to  loving  our  enemies,  it  seems  to 
be  a  principle  with  us  to  hate  them;  we  seem, 
many  of  us,  to  take  a  special  delight  in  hating 
them.  When  such  is  the  case  we  have  not  the 
spirit  of  Christ.  Love  must  break,  and  tender, 
and  melt  our  hearts,  or  we  are  none  of  His.  "If 
any  man  have  not  the  spirit  of  Christ  he  is  none 
of  His." 


ALL  THINGS  WORK  TOGETHER  FOR  GOOD.   419 


gM  mmp  Wm%  M^tlux  tix  Sx»ort. 

"And  we  know  that  all  things  ivork  together  for  good  to  them  that  love 
God." — Rom.,  viii,  28. 


Ancient  philosophers  taught  the  doctrine  that 
private  and  individual  interests  were  to  be  sacri- 
ficed for  the  good  of  all  men.  The  opinion  now 
obtains,  and  we  hear  it  frequently  inculcated  in 
worldly  polity,  that  the  interests  of  the  few  must 
often  necessarily  be  sacrificed  for  the  good  of  the 
many.  Human  legislation  is  frequently  based 
upon  this  doctrine,  and  thereby  private  and  in- 
dividual interests  are  often  sacrificed  for  the 
good  of  the  mass. 

This  is  the  result  of  the  weakness  and  imper- 
fection of  human  knowledge.  Man  is  imperfect 
himself,  and  consequently  any  system  of  govern- 
ment which  originates  within  him  must  also  be 
imperfect.  Not  so  in  God's  government.  This 
doctrine  finds  no  lodgment  in  His  providential 
administration  of  our  affairs.  Whilst  He  is  car- 
rying on  the  general  system  of  all  things  to  its 
proper  perfection,  the  interests,  both  general  and 
private,  of  all,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest, 
from  the  most  renowned  to  the  obscurest,  is 
guarded,  and  all  things  are  overruled,  so  as  not 
to  interfere,  so  far  as  God  is  concerned  as  the 


420  SERMONS. 

great  administrator  of  the  universe,  with  attain- 
ment of  felicity  by  each  if  he  will.  So  far  from 
sacrificing  in  any  way  and  to  any  extent  the 
private  and  individual  interests  of  any,  on  the 
contrary,  the  private  and  individual  interests  of 
each  who  love  Him  and  serve  Him,  He  especially 
guards  and  causes  all  things  to  conspire  to  the 
promotion  of  their  good,  but  in  every  case  so 
as  not  to  conspire  to  the  detriment  of  those  who 
do  not  love  Him,  for  His  tender  mercies  are 
over  all  His  works. 

The  text  is  a  strong  assurance,  and  needs  to  be 
well  considered  in  order  to  a  proper  understand- 
ing of  it.  In  elaborating  its  teaching,  I  call  your 
attention  first  to  the  characters  designated  in  it 
— "  those  that  love  God."  The  Apostle  evi- 
dently intended  to  teach  a  distinction  in  the  care 
and  interest  felt  and  exercised  by  God  towards 
those  that  love  Him,  and  those  who  do  not.  That 
Avhilst  there  is  a  general  superintendence  over 
all  His  works,  there  is  an  especial  providence  ex- 
ercised by  Him  over  those  who  love  Him.  Who 
are  they?  Many  profess  to  love  God,  and  in- 
deed it  would  be  difficult  to  find  any  who  would 
avow  hatred  to  Him.  Many  say  Lord  !  Lord ! 
but  professions,  apart  from  practice,  are  nothing 
with  God.  It  is  even  better  not  to  vow  than 
to  vow  and  not  pay  the  vow.  The  test  given  in 
God's  word  by  which  all  who  love  Him  may  be 


ALL  THINGS  WORK  TOGETHER  FOR  GOOD.      421 

designated  or  known,  is  the  keeping  of  His  com- 
mandments. "  If  ye  love  Me  ye  will  keep  My  com- 
mandments.'' It  is  as  natural  and  as  easy  to  one 
who  loves  God  and  has  the  spirit  of  Christ  to  do 
God's  will,  as  it  is  to  one  who  loves  the  devil  and 
has  his  spirit,  to  do  the  devil's  will.  Therefore, 
if  we  would  know  who  they  are  that  love  God, 
whether  we  may  put  ourselves  under  the  assur- 
ance of  the  text,  here  is  the  test :  "  By  their 
fruits  ye  shall  know  them."  In  order  to  do  the 
will  of  God — keep  His  commandments — the  car- 
nal mind  must  be  destroyed,  for  this  is  enmity 
against  God,  not  subject  to  His  laws ;  then  a 
growth  in  grace  must  be  sought,  until  all  the 
Christian  virtues  and  graces,  faith,  virtue,  know- 
ledge, temperance,  patience,  godliness,  brotherly 
kindness,  and  charity,  and  love  are  engrafted  upon 
the  soul.  When  this  is  done  or  is  sought,  then  they 
love  God.  Thus  the  feelings,  and  aspirations,  and 
hopes  wrested  from  the  devil  and  taken  off  the 
world  are  centred  in  God  as  the  great  and  only 
proper  object  of  undivided  affection.  God  the 
Creator,  God  the  Preserver,  God  the  Redeemer 
stands  preeminent  in  their  thoughts,  and  aims, 
and  purposes. 

With  their  hearts  touched  with  this  divine  and 
heavenly  influence,  as  the  needle  points  steadily 
and  continually  to  the  pole,  so  they  as  constantly 
and  unwaveringly  tarn  to  God  as  the  great  spir- 


422  SERMONS. 

itual  magnet.  If  new  doctrines  or  ideas,  new 
plans  or  schemes,  worldly  enterprises  and  gains, 
are  presented,  taking  up  God's  commandments, 
the  eye  of  faith  runs  along  the  path  of  duty,  and 
stops  not  till  it  reaches  God,  and  brings  them  all 
to  the  test,,  and  if  opposed  to  Him,  or  if  they  con- 
flict with  duty,  they  turn  away  from  them  with  a 
shudder.  I  know  it  is  a  mystery  that  a  man 
should  love  Him  whom  we  have  not  seen  ;  that 
he  should  love  a  Spirit,  that  in  the  invisible, 
eternal  Spirit  he  should  find  all  that  the  heart 
desires  or  wishes — "  great  is  the  mystery  of  God- 
liness." 

Now,  I  do  not  wish  to  speak  slightly  of  any 
man's  pretensions.  I  do  not  wish  to  discourage 
any  one  ;  but  if  there  is  a  professing  Christiau 
here  to-day,  who  does  not  answer  to  the  defini- 
tion, he  has  no  right  to  put  himself  under  the  as- 
surance of  the  text ;  and  if  he  be  excluded  from 
this,  for  the  same  reason  he  is  excluded  from  all 
the  promises  and  assurances  elsewhere  in  the  word 
of  God,  and  if  he  were  brought  to  an  account  to- 
day he  would  be  cut  off.  No  matter  how  long  he 
has  been  in  the  Church,  the  longer  without  this 
attainment  the  worse  for  him  ;  no  matter  how 
loud  his  professions,  the  louder  without  this  at- 
tainment, the  heavier  his  condemnation  ;  no  mat- 
ter how  great  his  desires  for  this  attainment,  the 
stronger  without,  the  greater  his  pain  in  being 


ALL  THINGS  WORK  TOGETHER  FOR  GOOD.   423 

cut  off.  For  this  reason  we  make  the  point :  you 
had  better  apply  the  test  now  whilst  there  is  hope 
of  reform,  than  have  it  applied  when  there  will  be 
no  such  hope.  But  those  who  answer  to  this 
definition  may  draw  large  comfort  from  the  assur- 
ance of  the  text,  for  "  to  them  all  things  work  to- 
gether for  good." 

The  next  step  we  take  is  to  define  what  is 
meant  by  the  term  good.  Men  have  very  differ- 
ent notions  of  what  constitutes  good.  With  a 
large  majority,  in  estimating  it  their  thoughts  are 
confined  exclusively  to  this  life,  and  they  esti- 
mate only  that  which  works  to  the  promotion  of 
earthly  good.  They  regard  it,  that  it  is  good  to 
be  rich,  and  conclude  that  the  text  is  true  only 
when  all  things  work  together  to  make  a  man 
rich.  Some  regard  worldly  honors,  fame,  as  the 
o-ood  to  be  desired,  and  then  it  is  true  onlv  as  all 
things  work  together  to  elevate  the  individual  in 
human  esteem.  Here  is  the  source  from  whence 
arises  so  much  error.  In  this  mistaken  view  may 
be  found  the  reason  why  this  text  appears  so 
contradictory  to  human  experience,  and  is  gene- 
rally so  difficult  of  belief.  Now,  if  our  existence 
terminated  with  this  life,  if  it  were  all  of  life  to 
live  here  and  all  of  death  to  die,  then  these  views 
would  be  true  and  our  text  conflict  with  human 
experience.  But  the  present  life  is  the  most  in- 
considerable part  of  our  existence,  a  little  space 


424  SEEMONS. 

cut  off  from  eternity,  in  which  we  pass  a  few  fleet- 
ing years  of  probation  and  preparation  for  exist- 
ence proper.  The  present  considered  in  itself 
cannot  be  called  existence  at  all.  We  are  in  an 
uncongenial  clime  ;  our  experience  proves  to  us 
every  day  that  there  is  not  to  be  found  here  that 
that  suits  or  satisfies  long  at  the  time. 

See  the  exile  far  away  from  his  home.  He 
may  be  pleased  and  entertained  for  a  time  by  the 
novelty  of  the  scenery  by  which  he  is  surrounded. 
For  a  time  he  may  sit  delighted  as  he  watches  the 
fall  of  the  cascade  and  listens  to  the  music  of  its 
waters,  mingling  with  the  songs  of  sweet  singing 
voices.  He  may  be  for  a  while  satisfied  as  he 
gathers  the  occasional  diamond  and  collects  the 
rich  ore  into  his  tent ;  but  he  becomes  at  last  sa- 
tiated with  these  things,  and  his  mind  and  heart 
turns  to  his  home  ;  stretching  far  away  over  the 
waters  that  divide  them  he  longs  to  clasp  the 
hands  of  loved  ones,  and  put  himself  in  their  em- 
brace. See  the  eagle  caught  from  his  mountain 
home.  For  a  time  he  feeds  on  food  to  others 
given,  and  listens  a  while  with  contented  air  to 
the  songs  of  the  lark,  but  soon  he  turns  his  eye 
to  his  ethereal  home  and  longs  to  cut  his  native 
air. 

So  'tis  with  man  in  this  life.  He  may  be  en- 
gaged and  entertained  for  a  time  with  hoarding 
wealth,  perhaps  until  he  is  old  ;  but,  becoming  sa- 


ALL  THINGS  WORK  TOGETHER  FOR  GOOD.      425 

tiated,  at  last  he  rises  from  amidst  his  coffers,  his 
fields  and  factories,  and  sighs  for  something  he 
has  not.  For  a  time  the  shouts  of  applause  may 
sound  pleasant  music  in  his  ears,  but  the  soul, 
tired  and  sickened,  at  last  longs  for  music  struck 
in  a  higher  and  purer  note  than  this.  Ah !  my 
friends,  think  of  it  what  you  may,  the  true  good, 
the  chief  good,  lies  above  and  beyond  this  earth. 

The  testimony  of  dying  lips — gathered  from 
death-beds  and  chambers,  the  witnessing  voice  of 
those  with  wrinkled  brow  and  silvered  locks,  cor- 
roborate the  teaching,  and  will  sooner  or  later  fix 
the  stern  conviction  on  every  heart,  that  happi- 
ness, felicity,  is  only  to  be  found  in  God,  in  Heaven, 
in  bliss  undying — for  these  only  are  commensurate 
with  the  soul. 

Now,  to  those  who  love  God  and  seek  in  Him 
their  good,  happiness,  all  things  work  together 
for  good.  There  are  many  persons  who  agree  in 
the  views  we  have  presented  all  along  up  to  this 
point ;  who  are  ready  to  consent  that  health, 
prosperity,  and  success  work  for  good,  but  are  at 
a  loss  to  see  how  sickness  and  adversity  do. 
They  think  there  is  so  much  more  evil  than  good 
in  the  world.  This  is  all  a  mistake.  There  is 
more  good  than  evil,  more  light  than  darkness, 
more  sunshine  than  cloud,  more  health  than  dis- 
ease, more  competence  than  poverty,  more  joy 
than  sorrow,  more  smiles  than  tears,  more  life  than 

19* 


426  SERMONS. 

death.  The  reason  why  there  seems  to  be  more 
evil  than  good  is,  that  no  chastening  seemeth  good 
at  the  time.  We  admit  that  health  and  pros- 
perity, if  properly  regarded,  work  for  good  to 
them  that  love  God,  but  not  as  effectually.  The 
test  to  which  G-od  brings  the  righteous  man  is  se- 
verer in  health  and  prosperity,  than  in  adversity. 
He  is  exposed  to  the  hazard  of  becoming  proud 
and  self-sufficient  and  forgetting  God.  On  the 
other  hand,  whilst  the  test  is  severe,  it  is  not  so 
great.  Let  a  man  have  the  hand  of  disease  laid  on 
him,  and  he  begins  to  think  the  teaching  is  true  ; 
that  life  is  sure  enough  a  vapor.  Let  misfortune 
smite  on  his  estate,  and  the  conviction  deepens 
in  his  mind  that  in  Heaven  only  moth  and  rust 
do  not  corrupt.  Let  the  foul  breath  of  slander 
blast  his  fair  name,  and  his  thoughts  at  once  turn 
to  the  skies  "where  the  wicked  cease  from  troub- 
ling." These  things,  if  he  be  properly  exercised 
by  them,  break  his  hold,  prevent  a  tenacious 
grasp  upon  the  perishable  things  of  life,  cause 
him  properly  to  estimate  them,  and  keep  his 
mind  turned  upon  the  chief  good.  And  in  this 
way  his  afflictions  "  work  for  him  a  far  more  ex- 
ceeding and  eternal  weight  of  glory."  So  also 
with  nations.  When  they  are  permitted  to  pros- 
per in  peace,  it  works  for  their  good,  if  they  use 
the  blessings  aright.  When  called  upon  to  pass 
through   war,    and   strife,  and    bloodshed,  they 


ALL  THINGS  WORK  TOGETHER  FOR  GOOD.      427 

work  for  them  good.  Many  are  ready  to  ask  how 
can  this  war  work  for  our  good.  We  have  been 
vain  and  proud — we  are  miserable  sinners,  we 
have  run  after  mammon,  we  have  forgotten  God. 
As  God  can  lock  up  the  lightning  and  hissing  hail 
in  the  bosom  of  the  dark,  stormy  cloud,  and  arch 
its  black  fold  with  the  bow  of  peace,  converting 
it  into  a  thing  of  beauty  and  grandeur  as  it  hangs 
upon  the  horizon,  so  God  can  arch  and  beautify 
the  dark  cloud  of  war  that  hangs  in  our  sky,  and 
bless  it  to  our  good.  In  this  view  of  the  case  we 
are  not  surprised  to  find  the  Apostle  declaring 
that  he  gloried  in  tribulation,  for  it  worked  for 
his  good — it  worketh  patience,  and  patience  ex- 
perience, etc. 

But  the  Apostle  says  all  things,  everything  in 
this  vast  universe.  The  sun  as  he  flies  in  the 
heavens  dispenses  his  light  and  heat  ;  the  shades 
of  night  gather  around  his  couch  to  minister  to 
his  slumbers  ;  the  dews  and  showers  fall  to  re- 
fresh him,  and  give  the  full  corn  in  the  ear,  if  it 
is  best  that  he  have  abundance,  otherwise 
drought  withers  the  blade  ;  the  lightnings  that 
flash  in  the  air  work  its  purification,  if  it  is  best 
he  should  have  health,  otherwise  the  winds  come 
loaded  with  miasma  or  ozone  ;  his  flocks  and 
herds  increase  and  spread  out  on  the  hills,  if  it  is 
for  his  good,  otherwise  his  pastures  are  untrod  ; 
if  it   is   for   his   good    his    children,  like  young 


428  SERMONS. 

olives,  cluster  around  the  parent  stalk,  gladden 
his  heart  and  cheer  his  household,  otherwise  they 
drop  on  his  bosom  like  autumn  leaves,  and  die. 
All  things  work  for  his  good,  life  and  death. 
When  he  is  old,  it  has  been  best  for  him  to  be- 
come old — death  works  for  his  good — meeting  him 
as  he  has  wandered  upon  the  edge  of  life,  with 
withered  cheeks  and  palsied  frame,  limbs  aching 
and  form  bending  over  his  staff,  afraid  of  that 
which  is  high,  death  meeting  him,  takes  him  in  his 
embrace;  though  cold,  he  lies  down  with  him  in  a 
bed  of  earth,  and  holds  him  on  his  bosom — until 
he  has  turned  to  ashes  ;  after  all  it  is  but  a  refin- 
ing process  through  which  he  passes,  and  thus 
that  bed  becomes  a  gate  through  which  he  is  ad- 
mitted to  the  chief  good — all  things  in  the  natu- 
ral, the  mental,  and  the  spiritual  world  work  for 
good. 

But  mark  the  language  of  the  text — all  things 
work  together.  In  many  things  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  see  how  they  worked  for  good  taken  sepa- 
rately, but  taken  in  connection  with  other  things, 
we  then  see  them  as  links  in  the  great  chain  of 
causes,  producing  or  bringing  about  this  end — 
happiness.  Prosperity  and  adversity  taken  sepa- 
rately would  work  evil  instead  of  good — the  former 
would  make  us  proud,  the  latter  would  drive  us  to 
despair  ;  but  taken  together,  they  work  for  good. 
Death  could  not  be  regarded  as  working  for  good 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  THE  SAVIOUR.  429 

if  life  worked  not  with  death.  But  as,  when  death 
strikes  the  body — tears  it  to  pieces,  turns  it  to 
ashes — life  conies  to  rebuild,  fit  it  together  again, 
and  quicken;  both  working  together,  they  change 
it  from  a  mortal  body  to  an  immortal  one,  and 
thus  work  for  good.  Heaven  and  hell  work 
together  for  good.  Hell  sends  up  the  fumes  of 
its  smoke  to  warn  us  to  flee  the  wrath  to  come. 
If  hell  worked  alone  we  would  be  scared  and 
driven  away  from  God  with  the  conviction  that 
He  was  unkind  and  cruel,  but  as  hell  works, 
Heaven  pours  the  swelling  tide  of  its  music  upon 
our  ears,  throws  open  its  gates  of  pearls,  and 
beckons  us  to  come  up  to  walk  the  gold-paved 
streets  with  harp,  and  palm,  and  crown,  and  robe. 
Thus  "  all  things  work  together  for  good  to  them 
that  love  God." 


(DELIVERED   BEFORE  THE  GRADUATING   CLASS  OF  OXFORD 
FEMALE  COLLEGE,  MAY  23d,   1871.— Eds.) 

"  TJien  took  Mary  a  pound  of  ointment  of  spikenard,  very  costly,  and 
anointed  the  feet  of  Jesus,  and  wiped  Ms  feet  with  her  hair ;  and  the  house 
was  filled  with  the  odor  of  the  ointment." — John  xii,  3. 


I  trust  that  it  is  not  simply  in  compliance  with 
custom  that  on  the  occasion  of  this  literary  festi- 
val we  come  at  this  hour  to  take  a  lesson  for  eter- 


\ 


430  SERMONS. 

nity.  The  part  assigned  me  by  the  authorities  of 
this  institution  is  to  give  this  lesson.  In  doing 
so  I  take  it  that  I  am  not  expected,  nor  is  it  de- 
sired of  me,  to  discourse  to  }rou  of  history,  or 
poetry,  or  science,  but  to  speak  to  you  of  Jesus, 
of  piety  and  heaven.  I  shall,  in  submitting  this 
lesson,  studiously  avoid  anything  that  may  even 
have  the  appearance  of  an  attempt  at  a  display 
of  learning.  It  is  my  purpose  to  preach  to  you 
the  Gospel.  The  act  of  Mary  recited  in  this  his- 
torical sketch  furnishes  us  with  the  theme,  as  it 
embodies  and  sets  forth  the  essential  elements  of 
Christian  character.  These  elements  I  propose 
to  present  to  you  in  three  propositions,  based 
upon  the  text,  viz  : 

1.  Every  Christian  woman  has  inwrought  in 
her  heart  the  spirit  of  genuine  humility,  and  this 
beautifies  her  character  and  makes  her  happy. 
This  proposition  is  based  upon  the  phrase,  "and 
wiped  his  feet  with  her  hair." 

2.  Every  Christian  woman  possessed  with  this 
spirit  of  humility  has  also  the  spirit  to  consecrate 
her  all  to  Christ,  and  finds  in  the  end  that  she 
will  gain  and  not  lose  by  it.  This  proposition  is 
based  upon  the  words,  "Then  took  Mary  a  pound 
of  ointment  of  spikenard,  very  costly,  and  anoint- 
ed the  feet  of  Jesus."     It  was  all  she  had. 

3.  The  character  of  those  who  in  humility  con- 
secrate themselves  to  Christ,  produces  and  leaves 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  THE  SAVIOUR.  431 

an  impress  for  good  upon  the  age  in  which  they 
live.  This  proposition  we  base  upon  the  last 
clause  in  the  text,  "  and  the  house  was  filled  with 
the  odor  of  the  ointment." 

We  proceed  now  to  take  up  the  first  proposi- 
tion. Mary  loved  Christ.  His  acts  of  kindness 
had  endeared  Him  to  her.  The  raising  of  her 
brother  from  the  dead  convinced  her,  beyond  a 
doubt,  that  He  was  what  He  professed  to  be— the 
Son  of  G-od,  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  As  such 
she  embraced  Him,  and  found  that  he  not  only 
had  power  to  raise  from  physical  death,  but 
power  to  raise  from  spiritual  death.  Choosing  as 
she  did  the  good  part,  the  power  of  the  new  life, 
which  passed  upon  her  by  faith  in  Him  as  her 
Saviour,  struck  from  her  bosom  pride,  and 
brought  her  in  humility  down  at  the  feet  of  Jesus. 
Was  ever  such  an  instance  of  humility  given  ? 
She  was  a  young  lady,  at  least  unmarried.  We 
must  presume  that  she  had  the  ordinary  care  of 
her  person.  We  may  suppose  that  she  cultivated 
her  hair,  with  which  God  ornaments  woman  ; 
it  would  have  been  very  unnatural  if  she  did  not. 
Yet  such  was  her  strong  spirit  of  humility,  in- 
wrought through  the  love  of  the  Saviour,  that  she 
gets  down  at  His  feet  and  wipes  them  with  her 
hair.  The  same  spirit  of  humility  which  she  pos- 
sessed and  manifested  is  found  now  pervading 
every  heart  upon  which  glows  the  love  of  Christ. 


432  SERMONS. 

Pride  and  love  of  Christ  do  not  go  together  ;  they 
are  antagonistic  ;  the  one  will  root  ont  the  other. 
They  are  each  cardinal  elements  in  the  hearts 
where  they  exist.  As  pride  is  the  grand  ruling 
element  in  the  carnal  heart,  so  humility,  the  first 
fruit  of  love  to  Christ,  is  the  grand  ruling  element 
in  the  spiritual  heart.  They  do  not  strike  hands 
together  in  alliance  in  any  heart.  When  one  en- 
ters the  other  departs.  The  truth  of  these  decla- 
rations is  illustrated  in  the  experience  of  all  gen- 
uine Christians.  Follow  the  man  in  his  experi- 
ence who  is  brought  savingly  to  a  knowledge  and 
love  of  Christ.  For  a  long  time  the  pride  of  his 
heart  kept  him  away  from  the  Saviour,  kept  him 
from  making  an  effort  to  seek  him.  He  was 
ashamed  to  let  the  world  see  him  crying  and 
weeping  around  the  altar  of  religion,  though  he 
felt  the  need  of  a  Saviour,  for  when  death  and 
the  judgment  rose  up  before  him  he  was  terror- 
stricken  and  affected.  Though  he  saw  a  charm  in 
the  name  of  Jesus,  and  felt  an  attraction  in  His 
Cross,  yet  his  proud  heart  revolted  at  all  that  hu- 
miliation. But  when  he  yielded  at  length,  and 
with  repentance  and  tears  sought  the  forgiveness 
of  God,  the  very  last  thing  with  which  he  parted 
when  he  crossed  the  line  which  brought  him  from 
the  kingdom  of  guilt  and  sin  into  the  kingdom  of 
grace  and  pardon,  was  pride.  It  clung  to  him 
and  worried  him.     It  held  on  to  his  skirts  as  he 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  THE  SAVIOUR.  433 

stood,  with  raised  foot,  even  to  step  into  the  king- 
dom. Pride,  an  unwillingness  to  yield  to  the 
conviction  that  he  was  helpless  and  dependent, 
kept  him  trying  to  the  very  last  to  help  himself. 
Though  it  could  never  blind  him  to  the  fact  that 
he  was  poor,  and  needy,  and  starving  spiritually, 
yet  it  kept  him  feeling  out  otherwise  for  help  than 
coming  right  down  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross  and 
acknowledging  before  God,  with  heart  as  well  as 
the  lip,  that  He  must  save  him  or  he  would  per- 
ish. As  soon  as  he  could,  by  grace,  wrench  pride 
from  his  heart,  he  dropped  at  the  feet  of  Jesus, 
powerless,  willing  to  do  anything  and  be  anything, 
that  he  might  receive  Christ ;  then  he  was  justi- 
fied and  regenerated.  The  first  great  impulse 
that  throbbed  in  his  heart,  as  the  light  of  Christ's 
love  broke  upon  his  soul,  and  revealed  to  him  his 
true  nature  and  something  of  the  nature  of  God, 
was  the  spirit  of  humility.  As  the  black  cloud  of 
his  sins  rolled  away  before  the  smile  of  the 
Father,  and  in  its  thick  darkness  he  saw  how 
great  had  been  his  guilt,  how  impure,  how  blind 
and  ignorant  he  had  been,  and  how  pure,  and 
good,  and  high,  and  great  is  the  Lord,  his  soul 
filled  with  amazement  that  God  should  have  con- 
descended to  have  noticed  him,  and  he  feels  it  his 
high  honor  to  gather  up  the  crumbs  that  fall  from 
His  table,  and  from  that  hour  until  the  present, 
as  he  walked  the  fields  of  His  spiritual  kingdom, 


434  SERMONS. 

he  scanned  His  character  by  the  light  of  His  spirit, 
drank  deeper  of  the  knowledge  of  G-od,  and  his 
own  self-abasement  has  increased. 

Let  us  look  a  little  to  the  history  of  this  prin- 
ciple which  marks  so  prominently  the  character 
of  the  true  lovers  of  Jesus.  It  underlies,  as  its 
foundation,  the  whole  plan  of  salvation.  Man  in 
his  primeval  state  possessed  it,  but  the  devil,  the 
leader  of  the  fallen  angels,  by  his  deceptive  arts 
and  flattery,  infused  the  poison  of  pride  into  his 
heart;  this  expelled  humility,  and  he  fell.  We 
are  sprung  from  him  "whose  guilty  fall  corrupts 
his  race  and  taints  us  all."  Now,  when  Christ 
undertook  to  repair  the  injuries  of  the  fall,  the 
first  blow  is  stricken  by  Him  at  this  pride,  the 
cause  of  all  sin  past,  all  pain,  all  woe  to  come. 
He  did  not  with  His  right  hand  tear  this  prin- 
ciple out  of  the  heart  of  man.  This  He  might 
have  done  if  He  had  not  made  man  a  free  agent. 
Divesting  Himself  of  His  own  greatness,  and 
grandeur,  and  glory  He  had  with  the  Father,  He 
brought  to  bear  upon  man  the  great  force  of  ex- 
ample, the  shining  example  of  a  Grod  humbling 
Himself  even  to  a  bed  in  a  manger,  taking  the 
form  of  a  servant  upon  Him,  and  submitting  to 
the  deepest  humiliation,  that  He  might  woo  man 
to  come  down  from  his  high  place  of  pride  and 
rebellion,  and  back  to  his  primeval  state  of  hu- 
mility.    The  example  does  not  stop  here.     Christ 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  THE  SAVIOUR.  435 

kept  Himself  down  in  that  vale,  the  vale  of  humi- 
lity, until  the  work  was  finished,  complete ;  then 
He  prayed  the  Father:  "Now,  oh!  Father,  glorify 
Thy  Son,"  and  the  Father  sent  a  chariot  from 
heaven,  accompanied  by  a  shining  retinue  of  an- 
gels that  shonted  Him  back  in  triumph.  Now,  in 
following  our  great  exemplar,  the  first  step  to  be 
taken  by  }tou,  my  }Toung  friends,  is  to  get  the 
spirit  of  humility  that  was  in  Him — is  to  humble 
your  hearts — is  to  get  down  with  Him  in  His  hu- 
miliation. God  resists  the  proud.  You  cannot 
make  one  successful  advance  unless  you  strike 
right  at  the  pride  that  is  in  your  heart.  When 
you  have  flung  it  from  you,  you  drop  on  the  bosom 
of  the  Saviour  and  are  accepted.  As  He  kept 
Himself  in  the  vale  of  humility  until  He  had  fin- 
ished the  plan,  so  you  must  keep  }rourselves  down 
in  humility  until  the  development  of  the  plan  is 
fullv  accomplished  upon  you.  If  you  keep  down 
then,  the  blood  of  the  Cross  drops  constantly  upon 
your  heart  to  wash  it  of  its  impurity.  If  you  keep 
down  in  humility,  the  glow  of  Christ's  humiliation 
warms  your  soul.  If  you  walk  humbly  before 
G-od,  the  light  that  streams  along  the  path  where 
Jesus  trod  lights  your  way  as  it  fell  before  the 
tracks  He  has  left  behind.  If  you  keep  down  in 
the  vale  of  humility,  you  catch  the  echo  of  the 
words  which  Jesus  spoke  for  the  encouragement 
of  His  saints.     But  exalt  yourself,  put  yourself 


436  SERMONS. 

on  the  pinnacle  of  wealth,  or  fashion,  or  fame 
and  you  put  yourselves  out  of  the  kingdom  of 
Christ — you  put  yourselves  above  its  hallowing, 
sanctifying,  soothing  influences  ;  and,  the  saddest 
of  all,  in  the  end  you  shall  be  abased.  Ah,  my 
young  friends,  there  is  something  about  this  thing 
of  getting  down  with  Christ  that  makes  the  soul 
happy.  It  carries  it  back  to  its  old  native  ele- 
ment. As  it  were,  it  turns  upon  its  ear  the  music 
of  God's  approving  voice,  which  sounds  like  the 
melody  of  Eclen.  It  is  a  sort  of  getting  down 
that  we  may  get  up- — a  stooping  to  catch  a  gaze 
upon  the  Saviour  that  enraptures  the  soul,  for  the 
example  stops  not  with  the  end  of  your  probation. 
As  the  Father  when  the  plan  was  finished  glori- 
fied the  Son,  so  the  Son  when  your  probation  is 
ended  will  glorify  you.  "He  that  humbleth  him- 
self shall  be  exalted" — exalted  to  be  sons  of  God 
and  heirs  of  eternal  salvation. 

We  now  take  up  the  second  proposition.  Those 
who  in  the  spirit  of  humility  love  Christ  are  will- 
ing to  consecrate  their  all  to  Him,  and  find  in 
the  end  that  they  gain  by  it.  Mary  had  one 
pound  of  ointment  of  spikenard.  It  was  very 
costly,  and  all  she  had.  She  put  it  all  upon 
His  feet.  So  the  Christian  woman  or  man,  when 
they  humble  their  hearts  in  obedience  to  the  will 
of  God,  tasting  that  the  Lord  is  good,  and  feel- 
ing the  powers  of  the  world  to  come,  they  take 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  THE  SAVIOUR.  437 

their  talents,  their  time,  their  substance,  and  lay 
them  down  at  the  feet  of  Jesus.  And  after 
the  Christian  has  done  this,  like  Paul  when  he 
was  stricken  down  by  the  light,  of  the  glory  of 
Christ  on  his  way  to  Damascus,  he  exclaims  : 
"Lord,  what  wilt  Thou  have  me  to  do?  Speak, 
Lord,  Thy  servant  heareth.  Now,  I  am  going 
to  do  just  what  You  tell  me,  just  what  You 
tell  me  in  jour  word,  and  through  your  spirit,  I 
intend  to  do.  If  it  is  to  sell  all  I  have  and  give 
to  the  poor,  if  it  is  to  leave  father,  and  mother, 
and  wife,  and  children,  and  house,  and  lands,  to 
serve  Thee,  I  will  do  it."  Why  does  he  do  this, 
why  talk  so,  why  thus  tempered?  Because  he 
loves  Christ.  It  is  not  that  he  does  not  love 
father  or  mother,  but  he  loves  Christ  better  ;  not 
that  he  loves  his  wife  and  little  ones  less,  but  he 
loves  Christ  more.  Said  a  heroic  martyr  on  his 
way  to  the  stake,  when  asked  if  he  did  not  love 
his  wife  and  little  ones  that  were  weeping  by  his 
side,  "Love  them?  Yes;  if  all  the  world  were 
gold  and  at  m}r  disposal  I  would  give  it  all  for 
the  satisfaction  of  living  with  them,  yet  in  com- 
parison with  Christ  I  love  them  not."  The  Chris- 
tian feels  that  if  he  were  ever  required  to  do  this, 
he  would  never  be  forsaken  nor  his  seed  ever 
have  to  beg  bread.  He  feels  that  if  he  were  re- 
quired to  do  this,  in  the  end  he  would  make  a 
good  bargain,  for  the  stipulation  is,  that  in  this 


438  SERMONS. 

life  he  is  to  have  an  hundred  fold  and  in  the 
world  to  come  life  everlasting.  Here  is  grand 
bargaining  for  you.  There  is  none  of  that  small, 
low  bidding  at  the  counters  of  heaven,  attempting 
to  jew  down  to  the  lowest  prices  by  which  the 
riches  of  the  kingdom  of  grace  may  be  purchased; 
none  of  that  small  bartering  a  little  scrap  of  your 
time  Sunday  to  his  service,  for  His  great  Sab- 
bath of  rest ;  none  of  that  picayune  business  of 
putting  in  a  few  shillings  or  dollars  a  year  to  the 
cause  of  Christ,  and  that  with  mouthing  and 
grumbling  ;  it  is  not  at  all  after  that  manner.  It 
is  making  a  grand  bargain  with  Christ,  which  con- 
secrates all  to  Him,  looking  into  eternity  for  its 
consummation.  With  his  soul  rendered  grateful, 
generous,  noble  and  honest,  by  the  love  of  the 
Saviour  shed  abroad  in  it,  he  reasons  thus :  Christ 
gave  himself  for  me  when  I  was  a  bankrupt, 
ruined,  insolvent.  He  then  left  His  Father's 
house  for  me  ;  He  ventured  His  all  for  my  salva- 
tion; surely  I  can  venture  my  all  for  Him.  I 
only  hold  it  in  trust  from  Him  anyhow.  This  is 
a  bargain  in  exchange  in  which  the  Christian  dose 
not  lose  anything.  What  is  a  pound  of  ointment  ? 
What  is  a  few  acres  of  soil,  even  if  he  had  a  right 
to  it,  cursed  with  thorns  and  thistles,  compared 
with  mansions  in  the  Father's  house  and  a  title 
in  fee  simple  to  the  boundless  fields  of  the  heav- 
enly Canaan  ?     What  is  the  time  of  his  life  if  he 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  THE  SAVIOUR.  439 

gives  it  all  to  Christ's  service,  compared  with  an 
eternal  lifetime  of  song,  and  praise,  and  happi- 
ness ?  What  are  a  few  bags  of  gold  that  ma}r 
turn  to  ashes  in  his  clutched  hands,  compared 
with  treasures  that  fade  not  away,  where  moth 
and  rust  do  not  corrupt  ?  Of  what  worth  is  the 
emerald,  the  pearl,  the  diamond  of  earth,  com- 
pared with  a  crown  of  life  that  shall  outgiitter 
the  sun  ? 

We  now  take  up  the  last  proposition:  the  char- 
acter of  those  who  in  humility  consecrate  them- 
selves to  Christ,  produces  and  leaves  an  impress 
for  good  on  the  age  in  which  they  live.  Mary's 
offering  to  Christ  filled  the  house  with  the  odor 
of  the  ointment.  St.  Matthew  reports  that  Christ 
said  of  her  act,  "wheresoever  this  Gospel  is 
preached  in  the  whole  world,  there  shall  also  this, 
that  this  woman  hath  done,  be  told  for  a  memo- 
rial of  her."  We  are  witnesses  to  the  truth  of 
Christ's  declaration.  No  one  reads  or  hears  this 
Gospel  without  being  impressed  with  this  exam- 
ple of  deep  humility  and  consecration  to  Christ. 
Eighteen  hundred  years  ago  and  more  it  occurred, 
and  yet  it  comes  to  us  with  all  the  freshness  of 
yesterday.  It  stands  out,  back  through  the  lapse 
of  the  dark  ages  that  intervene,  as  a  lone  beauti- 
ful flower  on  the  desert  waste,  sending  to  our 
times  the  odor  of  its  perfume,  or  like  a  small, 
twinkling  star  that  afar  off  decks  the  brow  of 


440  SERMONS. 

night,  sending  to  us  through  seas  of  mist  and 
vapor  its  feeble,  though  clear  and  mellow  light, 
over  millions  of  miles  of  space.  So  with  those, 
whether  in  high  or  low  estate,  who  venture  and 
consecrate  themselves  and  their  all  wholly  to 
Christ.  The  influence  of  their  good  deeds  will 
spread  itself  in  power,  like  leaven,  through  all 
the  circles  in  which  they  move,  and  wave  after 
wave  of  influence  for  good  is  started  by  them  on 
the  sea  of  life  that  widens  as  generation  succeeds 
generation,  and  extends  and  reaches  out  in  the 
future  until  they  break  on  the  shores  of  eternity. 
And  now,  young  ladies,  you  will  indulge  me 
in  a  few  remarks  specially  to  }Tou,  and  I  have 
done.  In  view  of  the  great  responsibility  which 
rests  upon  you,  by  the  influence  you  may  exert 
upon  the  weal  or  woe  of  our  common  country,  re- 
solve to  rise  up  fully  to  the  performance  of  your 
part  in  the  great  work  of  life.  Your  place  is  a 
high  one  in  the  scale  of  being,  your  sphere  is 
brilliant  and  glorious.  Whilst  you  may  by  your 
own  efforts  elevate  yourselves  to  high  position  in 
society,  remember  that  with  all  the  accomplish- 
ments, and  learning,  and  wealth,  and  honor 
which  the  world  can  confer  upon  you,  your  char- 
acter will  be  incomplete,  your  great  mission  can 
never  be  accomplished,  you  will  still  fall  be- 
low your  high  destiny,  if  you  lack  one  thing. 
Shall    I    tell     you    what    that  is?      Will     you 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  THE  SAVIOUR.  441 

allow  me  to  use  this  occasion  to  hold  up  the 
crowning  glory  of  woman  ?  It  is  Christian  char- 
acter. Without  it  in  the  end  all  her  earthly 
glory  fades.  And,  above  all,  remember  that  the 
Christian  woman  not  only  trusts  in,  but  works  for 
Jesus.  Mary  wiped  his  feet  herself — did  not  have 
a  servant  to  clo  it.  The  idea  is  too  prevalent 
that  men  alone  must  work,  must  preach,  must 
teach,  open  missions  and  schools.  Woman  shifts 
too  much  of  the  responsibility  on  the  opposite  sex. 
The  harvest  whitens  before  her,  and  she  fails  to 
put  in  the  golden  sickle,  waiting  for  the  stronger 
muscle.  True,  it  is  man's  duty  to  go  foremost  in 
the  great  enterprises  of  the  world,  but  it  is 
woman's  duty  to  move  closely  by  his  side.  It  is 
not  all  of  woman's  business  in  this  world  to  get 
educated,  to  make  music,  and  paint,  and  study 
fashions,  and  get  married,  and  superintend  the 
nursery.  True,  she  is  not  to  go  on  the  stump, 
or  in  the  forum,  or  in  the  pulpit ;  but  whilst 
her  husband  declares  the  message  of  love  and 
mercy  from  the  sacred  desk,  she  is  to  stand 
at  the  altar  to  extend  its  benefits  ;  whilst 
he  visits  the  sick  in  the  practice  of  the  healing 
art,  she  is  to  follow  him  with  the  basket 
of  charity  and  words  of  comfort  to  the  poor  and 
suffering  ;  and  thus  in  every  department  of  life, 
she  is  to  strengthen  his  hands  under  the  influence 
of  his  labor;  and  if  she  has  no  husband,  then  she 

20 


442  SERMONS. 

is  the  more  free  to  usefulness.  And  here  I  take 
occasion  to  render  what  I  consider  a  great  tribute 
to  that  class  of  women  who  choose  not  to  marry. 
Mary  belonged  to  that  class.  They  are  by  the 
unwitting  contemptuously  called  "  old  maids." 
Many  young  ladies  fall  into  the  great  mistake  that 
no  greater  curse  could  befall  them  than  to  be 
doomed  to  old  maidenhood.  It  is  the  embodi- 
ment of  all  their  fears,  the  plague  of  their  dreams. 
It  is  a  very  great  mistake.  I  know  of  no  class 
of  persons  so  entitled  to  honor  and  respect,  and 
from  whom  it  is  so  unjustly  withheld.  They  are 
indeed  servants  of  the  public.  If  the  sick  are  to 
be  attended,  they  are  pressed  into  service.  If  a 
class  in  Sunday  school  is  to  be  taught,  they  teach 
it.  If  money  is  to  be  raised  for  benevolence, 
they  take  around  the  subscription  paper.  They 
live  for  others,  work  for  others,  their  life  is  one 
of  self-sacrifice  and  toil  to  make  others  happy.  I 
stand  here  to-day  in  this  presence,  and  feel  great 
pleasure  in  pronouncing  this  eulogy,  so  well  de- 
served, upon  them.  They  are  to  be  honored  and 
envied  far  above  many  thousands  of  their  sex  who 
are  ill-matched,  hitched  on  to  the  car  of  unappre- 
ciating  men  by  the  bonds  of  wedlock.  And  when, 
like  Mary,  they  consecrate  themselves  in  humility 
to  Christ,  they  furnish  us  with  shining  examples, 
live  beautified  and  beatified  in  devotion  to  Christ 
and  His   service.     How  surpassingly  beautiful  is 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  THE  SAVIOUR.  443 

the  picture  of  a  good  woman,  whose  life  is  that  of 
a  public  benefactress !  How  it  commands  the 
reverence  and  respect  of  all  classes  of  men !  A 
gentleman  in  company  with  the  Superintendent 
was  visiting  a  mission  district  in  the  city  of  New 
York.  They  entered  an  apartment  where  a 
young  lady  was  teaching  a  class  of  reformed  men, 
rescued  from  the  paths  of  vice  and  sin.  The 
young  lady  had  charge  of  them,  a  very  large  class, 
alone.  The  gentleman  asked  the  Superintendent 
if  he  was  not  afraid  to  leave  her  alone  with  those 
rough  men.  "  Sir,"  said,  he,  "  every  one  of  those 
men  would  die  for  her  if  need  be,  and  if  any  one 
should  offer  her  an  indignity  he  would  not  get  out 
of  that  room  with  his  life.  They  reverence  her 
as  an  angel  of  mercy."  •  These  are  the  queens  of 
earth  of  Glod's  own  crowning. 

Remember,  young  ladies,  that  the  highest  source 
of  happiness  to  a  mortal  is  the  consciousness  of 
doing  good.  The  highest  source  of  happiness  to 
God  is  His  consciousness  of  doing  good.  The 
illimitable  and  unfathomable  mind  of  the  Eternal 
is  filled  with  pleasure  by  this  consciousness.  And 
the  vast  and  unlimited  universe  is  impressed  and 
filled  with  the  evidence  of  His  goodness,  as  the 
odor  of  the  ointment  filled  the  whole  house. 
The  impress  of  His  goodness  is  fixed  upon  every- 
thing that  appears  around  us,  and  transpires  about 
us.     It  is   printed   upon   every  leaf  and  every 


444  SERMONS. 

flower,  upon  every  wind  and  every  wave.  It 
glitters  in  the  dewdrop,  and  beams  forth  in  the 
rainbow.  Evening  and  morning  are  lighted  up  by 
His  smile.  The  clouds,  like  great  ships,  plough 
the  air,  and  drop  down  their  freights  of  fatness. 
And  what  appears  to  the  eye  is  insignificant,  com- 
pared with  the  impress  of  His  goodness  through- 
out the  vast  universe.  "The  heavens  declare 
the  glory  of  Glod,  and  the  firmament  showeth  His 
handiwork."  So  with  the  humbly  pious,  those 
who,  like  God,  do  good,  go  through  their  earthly 
probation  visiting  the  sick,  clothing  the  naked, 
feeding  "the  hungry,  pouring  oil  into  the  spirits 
that  are  wounded,  fill  their  own  minds  with  pleas- 
ure, as  the  odor  of  the  ointment  filled  that  house, 
and  they  impress  the  age  and  generation  in  which 
they  live  with  their  goodness.  One  pious,  hum- 
ble, consecrated  young  lady  fills  the  whole  col- 
lege with  the  impress  of  her  good  deeds,  and  when 
she  passes  away  from  its  halls  she  is  remembered, 
and  revered,  and  quoted  in  her  example.  "The 
name  of  the  wicked  shall  rot,  bat  the  memory  of 
the  just  is  precious."  Here  is  the  path  to  all  the 
earthly  immortality  that  is  worthy  of  our  aspira- 
tions. When  I  die  I  would  rather  have  a  plain, 
simple  stone  placed  at  my  grave,  bearing  truthfully 
the  inscription,  "He  spent  his  life  in  doing  good, 
blessed  the  world  while  living,  and  died  regretted 
by  all,"  than  to  have  a  towering   monument  of 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  THE  SAVIOUR.  445 

marble  and  brass  emblazoned  with  deeds  of  con- 
quest. When  I  die  I  would  rather  have  all  the 
poor  children  and  orphans  of  my  vicinit}r,  whose 
feet  I  had  shod,  and  whose  persons  I  had  clothed, 
come  to  my  funeral  and  weep  at  my  grave,  than  to 
have  the  booming  of  cannon  and  the  waving  of 
banners. 

Then,  in  conclusion,  let  me  say,  young  ladies, 
consecrate  in  humility  your  all  to  Christ.  Take 
Him  as  the  pattern  of  your  life,  and  go  about 
doing  good.  Ameliorate  the  condition  of  your 
race;  labor  to  advance  the  cause  and  kingdom  of 
Christ;  fail  not  to  put  your  mark  upon  the  age  in 
which  you  live;  let  each  of  your  hearts  be  touched 
with  the  fire  of  love  from  off  the  altars  of  heaven; 
cast  away  all  pride  and  formality;  speak  words  of 
hope  to  the  despondent;  take  the  hand  of  orphan- 
age, and  lead  it  through  the  difficult  and  hazard- 
ous paths  of  this  pilgrimage;  tend  in  the  chambers 
of  the  sick ;  stand  at  the  portal  of  the  tomb  and 
flash  the  light  of  God's  promises  over  the  shadows 
that  rise  from  the  grave;  and  when  you  die  you 
will  live  in  the  hearts  of  your  survivors.  This  is 
the  road  that  leads  to  immortality  on  earth,  and 
ends  with  immortality  in  heaven. 


446  SERMONS. 

&  Jto<M  tor  ffimijthiwj. 


"  To  everything  there  is  a  season,  and  a  time  to  every  purpose  under  the 
heaven." — Eccl.,  iii.  1. 


The  inspired  writer  goes  on  to  say,  there  is  "a 
time  to  be  born  and  a  time  to  die;  a  time  to  plant 
and  a  time  to  pluck  up  that  which  is  planted  ;  a 
time  to  kill  and  a  time  to  heal;  a  time  to  break 
down  and  a  time  to  build  up,"  etc.  In  the  eighth 
chapter  of  this  same  book,  "a  wise  man's  heart 
discerneth  both  time  and  judgment,  because  to 
every  purpose  there  is  time  and  judgment."  We 
draw  this  proposition  from  the  text,  that  there  is  a 
season  of  grace  allotted  to  every  man  for  salva- 
tion, which,  if  neglected,  he  perishes  without  hope. 
This  truth  is  exhibited  in  the  natural  world. 
Those  creatures  which  are  actuated  only  by  a 
principle  of  instinct,  which  are  unblest  with  rea- 
son, have  set  times  and  do  their  work  in  certain 
seasons.  The  bird  builds  its  nest  and  the  bee 
gathers  its  honey  in  summer ;  and  if,  through  any 
accident,  the  bird  does  not  build  or  the  bee  gather 
not  its  honey  in  the  proper  season,  they  are  pre- 
vented from  doing  so  in  winter  because  of  the 
cold.  Jeremiah,  with  this  idea,  no  doubt,  in  his 
mind,  says  :  "  Yea,  the  stork  in  the  heavens 
knoweth  her  appointed  times,  and  the  turtle,  and 


A  SEASON  TO  EVERYTHING.  447 

the  crane,  and  the  swallow  observe  the  time  of 
their  coming ;  but  my  people  know  not  the  judg- 
ment of  the  Lord."  Flowers  have  seasons  of  bud 
and  bloom  and  seasons  of  decay.  There  is  a  sea- 
son in  which  the  trees  dress  themselves  in  rich 
foliage,  and  a  season  in  which  they  cast  it  at  their 
feet.  There  are  times,  and  seasons,  and  bounds, 
and  limits,  fixed  to  everything  in  the  natural 
world.  God  has  said  to  the  ocean,  in  marking 
its  boundaries:  "Thus  far  shalt  thou  go,  and  no 
farther."  We  find  man  also,  in  his  relations  to 
the  natural  world,  bound  and  compelled  to  be 
governed  by  times  and  seasons  in  providing  for 
the  wants  of  his  body.  There  is  a  time  for  him 
to  plant,  and  a  time  to  reap;  a  time  to  sow,  and  a 
time  to  gather  into  barns;  and  if  he  neglect  these 
times  his  physical  wants  go  unsupplied.  In  trade 
the  same  thing  is  observable.  There  seems  to  be 
in  bargaining  some  lucky,  auspicious  time,  which, 
if  let  slip  or  overlooked,  the  price  fails  or  the 
thing  fails — it  becomes  too  late,  the  nick  of  time 
passes.  Now.  all  this  comes  under  our  observa- 
tion every  day.  I  am  not  now  addressing  a  single 
individual,  who  will  not  testify  from  his  observa- 
tion and  experience  the  truth  of  these  things. 
We  all  see  it  and  feel  it.  Now,  this  thing  of  act- 
ing  at  the  time,  seizing  the  favorable  opportunity 
in  order  to  success,  is  not  only  observable  in 
trade  and  speculation,  but  man's  success  in  every 


448  SERMONS. 

department  of  life  depends  upon  it.  This  truth 
called  forth  the  celebrated  saying  of  the  great 
Shakespeare,  who  understood  men  and  things,  the 
workings  of  nature,  better  than  any  man  that 
ever  lived.  Says  he:  "There  is  a  tide  in  the 
affairs  of  men,  which,  taken  at  its  flood,  will  waft 
to  fortune  and  to  fame." 

Farther  than  this,  we  find  that  these  times  and 
seasons  are  not  only  connected  with  his  transac- 
tions and  success,  but  are  fixed  upon  his  physical 
system.  There  is  a  season  of  youth  ;  if  the  du- 
ties and  advantages  of  that  season  be  neglected, 
the  injury  can  never  be  repaired.  There  is  a 
season  of  manhood,  when  the  nerves  are  steady 
and  the  muscles  strong  ;  if  the  work  of  manhood 
be  not  performed,  it  cannot  be  accomplished  when 
the  nerves  become  unsteady  and  the  muscles  lose 
their  strength.  There  is  a  season  of  old  age,  when 
"those  that  look  out  of  the  windows  be  darkened, 
and  the  grinders  cease,  because  they  are  few." 
There  is  a  season  of  death.  Man  has  his  ap- 
pointed time,  his  bounds  beyond  which  he  cannot 
pass.  Now,  if  these  things  be  true,  and  the  truth 
of  them  our  senses  will  not  permit  us  to  doubt 
for  a  moment,  reasoning  from  analogy,  supposing 
God  has  appointed  the  same  order  as  to  times 
and  seasons  in  the  spiritual  world,  would  we  not 
reasonably  come  to  the  conclusion  that  there  are 
set  times,  a  season  appointed,  in  which  man  may 


A  SEASON  TO  EVERYTHING.  449 

attend  to  his  spiritual  interests,  which  if  neg- 
lected puts  it  out  of  his  power  to  secure  his  sal- 
vation ? 

I  know  that  this  analogous  reasoning  is  not  in 
itself  conclusive,  and  we  do  not  rely  alone  upon 
it  for  the  maintenance  of  our  proposition,  but 
simply  offer  it  as  a  strong  support ;  and  that  it 
may  be  brought  more  forcibty  before  your  mind 
we  will  sum  it  up.  If  the  bee  has  its  time  to 
gather  honey,  and,  neglecting  it,  cannot  gather 
for  the  cold  ;  if  flowers  and  trees  have  seasons  of 
leaf  and  nakedness  ;  if  man,  in  his  relations  to  the 
natural  world,  is  bound  and  compelled  by  times 
and  seasons  in  what  he  does ;  if  this  is  true  in 
providing  for  his  physical  wants — bounds  set  to 
his  natural  life — do  not  these  facts  strongly  favor 
and  sustain  the  conclusion  of  the  proposition,  that 
there  is  a  season  of  grace  allotted  to  every  man, 
which,  if  neglected,  he  perishes  ? 

Thus  much  for  the  argument  drawn  from  rea- 
soning from  analogy.  We  now  proceed  to  sus- 
tain the  truth  of  the  proposition  from  the  teach- 
ings of  God's  word,  and  we  think  it  can  be  shown, 
beyond  all  controversy,  to  be  true.  May  God 
help  us  to  feel  very  solemn  in  its  consideration. 
May  God  help  us,  both  saint  and  sinner,  to  feel  of 
what  awful  interest  to  us  is  the  sustaining  of  this 
proposition.  If  it  is  true  that  every  man  has  his 
season  of  grace,  a  set  time  for  the  securing  of  his 

20* 


450  SERMONS. 

soul's  salvation,  and  that  such  is  the  nature  of 
the  plan  of  grace  and  salvation  that  if  he  neg- 
lects it  his  chance  for  heaven  is  gone,  his  doom  is 
sealed — I  say  if  this  is  true,  every  man  ought  to 
know  it.  It  ought  to  be  written  in  letters  of  fire 
on  every  man's  heart.  May  God  help  us  to  make 
you  see  it  and  feel  it  this  night.  Oh,  for  the 
presence  of  God,  and  the  light  and  fire  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  as  we  look  this  question  in  the  face, 
and  put  ourselves  in  the  scales  ! 

Now,  all  agree  that  it  is  the  influence  and 
agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit  applying  the  merit  of 
Christ's  death  to  us  that  brings  us  into  a  state  of 
salvation,  and  that  without  the  Spirit  helping  us 
we  are  lost,  If,  therefore,  this  Spirit  should 
never  be  given  to  a  man,  there  can  possibly  be  no 
hope  of  his  salvation  ;  but  no  man  will  ever  per- 
ish on  this  account,  for  the  Spirit  is  given  to 
eveiy  man,  enlightens  every  man's  mind  that 
cometh  into  the  world.  If  this  Spirit  shall  be 
withdrawn  from  the  heart  after  it  is  bestowed, 
man's  doom  is  as  certain  as  though  it  were  never 
given.  This  is  the  part  to  which  we  direct  your 
attention,  and  we  proceed  in  this  examination 
with  the  following  strong  quotation  from  inspira- 
tion :  "  My  Spirit  shall  not  always  strive  with 
man."  We  expect  to  sustain  our  proposition  by 
showing  that  there  are  fixed  times  and  seasons  in 
which  the  help  of  the  Spirit  is  extended  to  the 


A  SEASON  TO  EVERYTHING.  451 

soul ;  that  that  help  extends  to  a  striving  with 
the  spirit  of  man  to  induce  it  to  yield  to  God,  and 
that  if  it  shall  be  resisted,  and  those  times  and 
seasons  neglected,  it  quits  the  heart,  and  the  dam- 
nation of  the  sinner  is  sealed.  Now,  if  we  can 
show  one  case  in  which  the  Spirit  of  God  has  been 
withdrawn  after  resistance  and  provocation,  God's 
justice — as  He  is  no  respecter  of  persons — com- 
mits him  to  the  withdrawal  of  His  Spirit  from  all 
who  have  been  equally  guilty  of  obstinate  resist- 
ance and  striving  against  the  Spirit,  or  guilty  to 
an  equal  extent  with  that  case.  The  first  is 
found  in  Psalms,  xcv,  10:  "Forty  years  long  was 
I  grieved  with  this  generation,  and  said  it  is  a 
people  that  do  err  in  their  hearts,  and  they  have 
not  known  My  ways  :  unto  whom  I  sware  in  My 
wrath  that  they  shall  not  enter  into  My  rest." 
Here  is  a  clear  case  in  which  there  was  a  season 
allotted,  a  definite  time  allowed,  in  which  they 
might  have  secured  the  favor  of  God.  Forty 
j^ears  long,  says  God.  For  forty  years  God 
waited  with  them.  We  have  another  point 
equally  as  clearly  taught,  that  during  that  whole 
time  the  Spirit  of  God  was  striving  with  them. 
God  says,  I  was  grieved  with  this  generation  for 
forty  years,  My  Spirit  was  slighted  and  resisted. 
I  was  grieved.  We  have  another  point  exhibited 
in  this  case,  that  after  they  had  resisted  God's 
Spirit  forty  years — their  allotted  time — He  took 


452  SERMONS. 

from  them  His  Spirit,  for  He  swore  they  should 
not  enter  into  His  rest.  "  Unto  whom  I  sware  in 
My  wrath  that  they  shall  not  enter  into  My  rest." 

Take  another  case,  Luke  xix,  42.  Addressing 
the  Jews,  our  Saviour  said:  "If  thou  hadst 
known,  even  thou,  at  least  in  this  thy  day,  the 
things  which  belong  unto  thy  peace  ;  but  now 
they  are  hid  from  thine  eyes."  Now,  we  have 
these  three  points  clearly  taught  in  this  case. 
First,  that  they  had  an  allotted  time — a  fixed 
season.  "If  thou  hadst  known  in  this  thy  day." 
Secondly,  that  they  neglected  them— resisted  the 
Spirit.  And,  thirdly,  that  the  Spirit  withdrew 
from  them  and  left  them  in  blindness  and  igno- 
rance— "  but  now  they  are  hid  from  thine  eyes." 

Again,  the  Apostle  says,  in  Hebrews,  iii,  7,  8  : 
"To-day,  if  ye  will  hear  his  voice,  harden  not 
your  hearts."  Here  he  says,  to-day.  What  does 
this  mean  ?  He  limiteth  a  certain  clay,  meaning 
simply  that  there  is  a  certain  time  in  which  the 
voice  of  the  Spirit  is  heard,  and,  if  not  obeyed, 
after  that  limited  day  the  heart  is  hardened  by  the 
withdrawal  of  that  Spirit.  I  do  not  pretend, 
nor  do  I  wish  the  impression  made,  that  it  is 
taught  that  a  certain  day  of  a  man's  life  is  ap- 
pointed to  him  to  yield  to  the  Spirit,  but  that  the 
season  allotted  him  extends  through  many  days, 
and  perhaps  months  are  represented  here  by  a 
day,  and,  as  we  think,  appropriately  and  striking- 


A  SEASON  TO  EVERYTHING.  453 

ly  represented  in  several  particulars.  Its  short- 
ness is  represented  by  the  shortness  of  a  day.  A 
day  is  soon  passed  and  gone.  How  quickly  is  the 
season  of  grace  to  the  soul  departed,  though  it  ex- 
tends through  thirty,  or  forty,  or  three  score 
years.  A  day  represents  the  time  of  a  man's  pro- 
bation by  its  being  followed  by  night.  When  the 
day  or  season  of  grace  is  over,  a  dark,  and  gloomy, 
and  eternal  night  shuts  in  upon  the  soul. 

Now,  take  these  cases  cited,  clear  and  explicit 
as  they  are,  and  connect  them  with  such  teaching 
as  "Quench  not  the  Spirit;"'  "Grieve  not  the 
Holy  Spirit  of  God  ;"  "  Ye  do  always  resist  the 
Holy  Ghost ;"  "  My  Spirit  shall  not  always  strive 
with  man  ;"  and  does  it  not  make  it  plain,  and 
clear,  and  palpable — aye,  does  it  not  put  it  be- 
yond all  doubt,  that  there  is  a  point,  a  limit,  be- 
yond which  if  a  man  go  there  is  no  returning  ? 
a  season  which,  if  spent  in  idleness,  in  resistance 
to  the  Spirit,  there  is  no  repairing  the  injury? 
Then  take  this  Scriptural  proof  and  connect  it 
with  the  experience  of  those  who  have  testified  in 
a  dying  hour,  that  it  was  too  late  for  them,  that 
they  had  lived  out  their  clay  of  grace,  and  that  the 
Spirit  had  left  their  hearts.  How  many  dying 
testimonials  have  we  to  the  truthfulness  of  the 
proposition  of  the  text  ?  Many  of  you  have  seen 
and  heard  them. 

Then  take  this  Scriptural  proof,  sustained  by 


454  SERMONS. 

the  experience  of  those  from  whom  the  Spirit  has 
been  withdrawn,  and  connect  it  with  argument 
drawn  from  the  times  and  seasons  fixed  upon  all 
things  in  the  natural  world,  and  can  we  resist  the 
conviction  that,  as  God  has  put  a  season  upon 
everything,  and  a  limit  to  our  natural  life,  that 
He  has  also  limited  the  clays  of  the  striving  of  the 
Spirit  with  our  souls  ?  Great  God  !  what  terror 
should  this  conviction  send  to  the  soul  of  that  man 
or  woman  who  has  been  resisting  the  Spirit  of 
God  all  their  life,  neglecting  their  day  of  grace  ! 
Think  of  it !  Your  day  of  grace  has  a  beginning 
and  an  ending.  How  much  of  your  day  of  grace 
is  spent?  The  grace  which  has  been  lavished 
upon  you,  and  which  you  have  been  wasting  and 
squandering,  is  a  fixed  allowance.  How  much  of 
it  have  you  spent?  How  much  of  it  is  left? 
When  it  is  all  spent  and  gone,  then  there  is  no 
more  for  you.  God  will  never  extend  it  or  con- 
tract it — never  increase  or  diminish  it.  For  God's 
sake,  and  for  your  own  soul's  sake,  stop  right 
where  you  are !  The  very  next  sin,  the  resist- 
ance of  the  Spirit,  through  this  appeal,  may  sepa- 
rate your  soul  and  the  Spirit  of  God  forever. 


SOWING  AND  REAPING.  455 


>0wwg  m&  §m\nn$. 


"  Be  not  deceived ;  God  is  not  mocked:  for  ichatsoever  a  man  soiveth,  that 
shall  he  also  reap. 

For  he  that  soiveth  to  his  flesh  shall  of  the  flesh  reap  corruption ;  but  he  that 
soiveth  to  the  spirit  shall  of  the  spirit  reap  life  everlasting." — Gal.,  vi.  7,  8. 


The  Christian  system  bears  upon  it  the  marks 
of  infinite  wisdom.  It  is  founded  in  reason,  and 
is,  therefore,  reasonable  in  all  its  demands,  and 
laws,  and  principles,  and  promises,  and  threaten- 
ings,  and  rewards,  and  punishments.  It  is  per- 
fectly apparent  to  the  most  casual  observer,  that 
in  the  physical  world  the  laws  by  which  all  things 
were  created  and  are  regulated  are  founded  in  rea- 
son— marked  with  infinite  wisdom.  Every  rock, 
and  twig,  and  leaf,  and  bloom,  and  fruit,  and 
wave,  and  wind,  bears  its  impress.  There  is  an 
aptness,  and  fitness,  and  interlinking,  and  inter- 
weaving of  all  things  by  the  law  of  causes  and 
effects  ;  and  all  reducible  to  and  in  strict  accord- 
ance with  reason,  appreciable  by  and  in  harmony 
with  the  workings  of  our  intellects.  So  in  religion, 
the  same  good,  sound  philosophy  pervades  it  in  all 
its  points.  There  is  not  a  single  principle  inculca- 
ted that  is  not  in  strict  accordance  with  reason;  not 
a  single  threatening,  that  is  in  the  heart,  either  in 
kind  or  extent,  immaterial  ;  not  a  single  promise 
given  of  present  or  future  good,  that  is  not  based 


456  SERMONS. 

upon  the  soundest  philosophy ;  not  a  reward  or 
punishment  bestowed  but  what  it  is  the  rational 
philosophic  working  out  of  these  spiritual  laws, 
as  assuredly  and  certainly  as,  when  the  sun  ap- 
pears in  the  heavens  as  the  cause,  light  is  pro- 
duced as  the  effect.     Many  persons  have  an  idea 
that   religion   is  mysterious,    something   that   is 
manufactured   in  heaven,  and  is  bestowed    and 
distributed  on  mortals  on  conditions  capricious, 
as    a  matter  of  freak   or   fancy   of  Jehovah,  or 
if  not  bestowed  in   this  manner,  may  be  taken 
or  put  off  as  a  garment    at  will  and   pleasure. 
It    is    all    a    mistake.     Christian    character    in 
all    its    elements,   in    its    beauty    and    symme- 
try, in  its  blessings  and  benefits,  both   in  time 
and    eternity,  is   the  growth   and   perfection   of 
principles.     As  in    the    natural    world,   so  soon 
as  we  open  eyes   on    the   light  of  heaven   and 
begin  to   breathe  the  atmosphere,   our  physical 
systems,  under    the   operation  of  natural  laws, 
begin  to  grow,   and  develop,   and    tend  to   ma- 
turity,  so  our  spiritual  constitutions,  under   the 
operations    of   spiritual    law,  begin — especially 
when  the   line  of  accountability  is  crossed  —  to 
grow  and  ultimately  ripen  into  characters  capable 
of  bliss,  or  fitted  for  destruction.     As  the  seed 
deposited  in  the  earth,  under  the  influence  of  the 
atmosphere,  and  soil,  and  sun,  and  shower,  will 
germinate,  and  grow,  and  mature,  and  produce  a 


SOWING  AND  REAPING.  457 

multiplied  crop  of  its  kind,  so  the  seeds  of  truth 
or  error,  of  proper  or  false  training,  dropped  on 
the  heart,  sown  in  the  spiritual  world,  will  pro- 
duce crops  of  their  kind.  These  reflections  in- 
troduce the  text,  the  fundamental  doctrine  of 
which  is  that  every  man  shall  finally  receive  of 
God  reward  or  punishment,  not  only  in  kind  but 
in  degree  for  his  works.  Hence  the  lesson  we 
learn  from  the  text  is  that  we  make  our  own 
characters,  and  that  our  state  or  condition  of  hap- 
piness in  time  and  eternity  is  dependent  upon  our 
own  conduct.  We  may  deceive  ourselves  and 
our  followers  as  to  this  doctrine  and  lesson,  but 
cannot  deceive  God,  for  He  is  not  mocked,  can- 
not be  deceived  ;  we  can  no  more  prevent  the 
operation  of  the  doctrine  of  the  text  than  we  can 
cause  grass  to  grow  on  thorns,  and  figs  on  this- 
tles. The  world  is  the  field,  embracing  our  intel- 
lects, our  hearts,  our  bodies,  our  social  and  do- 
mestic, civil  and  political  relations.  Our  proba- 
tion from  the  cradle  to  the  tomb  is  the  seed  time. 
Truth  and  error  are  the  seeds.  The  Spirit  of 
God  is  the  sun,  shedding  his  constant  ray,  and 
God's  grace  is  the  dew  that  falls.  The  spirit  of 
evil  is  the  counteracting  powrer.  Upon  this  scene 
man,  possessed  with  immortality,  comes  to  begin, 
and  shape,  and  work  out  his  eternal  destiny.  He 
comes  not  by  his  own  choice,  but  despite  of  him 
he  is  here  with  these  surroundings,  and  must  go 


458  SERMONS. 

through.  He  presents  a  sublime  spectacle  when 
properly  regarded  and  appreciated,  exciting  the 
intensest  interest.  Unlike  the  beast  or  bird,  or 
any  inanimate  thing,  however  beautiful,  or  at- 
tractive, or  sparkling,  he  has  the  power  of  will 
and  choice.  He  bears  upon  him  the  impress 
of  the  eternal  God ;  like  Him,  he  thinks,  reasons, 
concludes,  plans.  In  the  flashing  of  his  eye  there 
is  an  intelligence  akin  to  infinite  wisdom  ;  on  his 
tongue  is  a  language  a  little  inferior  to  the  dia- 
lects of  angels.  Upon  his  heart  glows  an  aspira- 
tion akin  to  that  that  flames  on  the  bosom  of  the 
sons  of  G-od.  Oh  !  'tis  a  grand  spectacle  he  pre- 
sents in  the  sight  of  earth  and  heaven  !  We 
bend  over  his  cradle,  listen  to  his  unintelligible 
prattle,  or  catch  his  plaintive  cry.  He  appears 
an  insio-nificant  thing;.  A  short  time  aoro  he  was 
nothing,  had  no  existence.  Now  the  period  shall 
never  arrive  when  he  shall  cease  to  be.  A  short 
time  ago  he  had  no  sensation,  no  intelligence. 
The  time  will  never  come  when  he  will  know  as 
little  as  he  does  now.  Those  hands  so  small,  so 
tender,  so  soft,  will  eventually  sweep  a  harp  in 
heaven  or  wear  chains  in  hell.  God  and  angels 
look  on  the  spectacle  with  interest.  It  may  be 
in  a  cabin,  he  may  lie  upon  a  rag.  Until  he 
reaches  the  line  of  accountability,  his  destiny  is 
to  a  great  extent  in  the  hands  of  those  whose 
duty  it  is  to  train  him  in  the  way  he  should  go. 


SOWING  AND  REAPING.  459 

When  he  passes  this  line,  then  every  hour  he  lives, 
every  act  he  performs,  every  word  he  speaks, 
every  thought  he  indulges,  is  making  destiny  of 
his  character.  The  progression  is  rapid.  There 
is  progression  in  everything.  In  the  intellectual 
world  it  is  quite  marked.  Take  the  intellect  in 
this  one  development,  its  improvement  and  per- 
fecting the  human  language.  Language,  it  is  true, 
was,  in  its  elementary  form,  the  gift  of  God,  but 
how  meagre.  Now,  notwithstanding  the  shocks 
and  interruptions,  at  intervals,  who  fails  to  be 
struck  with  the  progression  of  intellect  in  this 
department,  as  manifested  by  the  various  lan- 
guages and  dialects  now  written,  and  spoken,  and 
sung  ?  So  with  science — at  first  men  did  not 
know  whether  the  earth  was  round  or  flat, 
whether  the  clouds  came  from  the  moon  or  the 
fixed  stars ;  they  hardly  knew  the  nature  of  any- 
thing. Now  the  veil  has  been  stripped  from  the 
objects  that  surround  us,  and  nature  seems  to 
have  made  man  her  confidant,  rendering  up  her 
secrets  to  his  keeping.  So  in  political  science, 
there  has  been  and  will  be  the  same  progression. 
This  progression  is  noticed  more  particularly  in 
individual  development.  At  first  the  individual 
was  hardly  capable  of  turning  over  a  single 
thought  in  the  mind  ;  after  awhile  he  reasons 
more  acutely  ;  the  judgment  grows  stronger 
and  stronger  ;  so  the  memory,  so  the  perception, 


460  SERMONS. 

so  the  will.  The  same  progression  is  seen  in 
physical  development.  That  boy  a  few  years  ago 
was  in  the  cradle  ;  that  man  was  on  the  field  fly- 
ing his  kite,  or  following  his  hoop,  or  spinning 
his  top.  Everything  in  the  natural  world  is 
marked  with  the  same  law  of  progression.  That 
green  carpet  that  greets  the  eye  was  a  few  weeks 
ago  in  a  seminal  state.  That  beautiful  shade  tree, 
flinging  its  shadow  about  your  steps,  and  catch- 
ing to  cool  the  air  before  it  turns  into  your  cham- 
ber, was,  a  short  time  ago,  a  shrub  you  watched 
with  tender  care.  That  tall  oak  in  your  forest, 
stretching  up  its  giant  arms  in  defiance  of  the 
storm,  was  a  few  years  ago  an  acorn.  So  with 
the  moral,  spiritual  man.  The  same  progression 
constantly  goes  on  for  weal  or  woe.  The  indi- 
vidual who  rejects  Christ,  sets  aside  His  laws, 
practices  vice,  or  even  pursues  an  ungodly  course, 
sows  to  the  flesh,  is  rapidly  maturing  a  charac- 
ter by  the  same  law  of  progession.  A  few  years 
ago  his  character  was  just  assuming  shape.  Now 
his  will,  turned  against  God,  is  strong  ;  his  love 
of  the  world,  the  all  powerful  passion  of  his 
bosom,  increases  every  da}T,  his  distaste  to  reli- 
gion increases  in  the  same  ratio  to  his  love  of  vice. 
Mercy !  how  it  flames  into  a  great  passion.  He 
is  stronger  in  his  sinful  nature  than  last  year, 
than  last  month,  than  last  week,  than  last  hour. 
While  he  is  sitting  hearing  me,  resisting,  he  is 


SOWING  AND  REAPING.  461 

growing,  getting  stronger  and  stronger  in  all  the 
elements  that  constitute  such  a  character  as  God 
will  damn  in  hell.  Oh,  what  a  fearful  thought ! 
When  he  goes  home  and  lies  down  at  night  without 
prayer,  with  thought  of  business  crowding  his 
mind,  and  love  of  the  world  flaming  his  heart,  he 
will  be  stronger  than  when  he  arose  this  morning, 
but  not  so  strong  as  he  will  be  to-morrow,  or  the 
next  week  or  year.  Oh  !  what  a  giant  he  will  be- 
come after  a  while.  What  giants  some  of  these 
men  are  now.  No  wonder  that  they  can  sit  out 
the  strongest  appeal  unmoved.  No  wonder  so 
few  persons  become  Christians  after  twenty  years 
of  age,  and  still  fewer  after  they  are  thirty,  and 
scarcely  any  one  after  they  are  forty  or  more 
years. 

Again,  there  is  not  only  growth  in  principles, 
and  habits,  and  appetites,  and  desires,  and  a 
maturing  into  fruit  of  all  these,  but  the  progres- 
sion is  in  the  ratio  of  the  multiplication  and  in- 
crease of  seeds  as  far  as  it  is  possible  to  represent 
a  spiritual  thing  by  a  natural.  A  single  grain  of 
corn  produces  not  one  grain  only,  but  several 
hundred.  A  handful  of  barley  will  produce 
hundreds  of  handsful  ;  a  single  acorn  will  pro- 
duce a  tree  that  bears  bushels.  So  one  seed  of 
error,  falsehood,  sin,  will  produce  a  luxuriant 
crop  of  its  kind.  He  that  soweth  sparingly, 
shall  reap  sparingly.     Every  oath  sworn  will  pro- 


462  SERMONS. 

duce  its  crop  of  oaths.  Every  lie  told  will  pro- 
duce its  crop  of  lies.  Every  glass  drunk  will 
produce  its  crop  of  glasses  ;  every  card  thrown 
will  produce  its  crop  of  games.  As  the  exercise 
of  the  power  to  resist  good  influences  is  exerted, 
the  power  to  do  evil  increases  in  the  same  ratio. 
Oh  !  what  a  harvest  of  sin,  of  evil,  of  woe,  of 
corruption,  is  springing  up  around — if  by  any 
means  you  could  see  it,  rank,  luxuriant.  On  the 
other  band,  seeds  of  a  different  character  multiply 
in  the  same  ratio.  One  seed  of  truth  dropped  on 
the  heart  brings  also  an  abundant  crop  of  its  kind. 
One  good  act  generates  a  hundred — a  word  fitly 
spoken  causes  the  party  addressed  to  speak  a 
score,  and  they  in  turn  speak  hundreds.  Every 
smile  that  lights  the  face  produces  a  crop  of  smiles. 
Like  a  pebble  dropped  into  a  lake,  a  wave  starts 
and  moves  its  neighboring  water,  and  this  in  turn 
that  is  next,  and  thus  the  influence  spreads  in  its 
widening  circle,  until  the  water,  before  motionless 
on  the  shore,  leaps  into  the  face  of  the  lily  that 
stoops  on  its  edge.  He  that  soweth  good  deeds, 
words,  principles,  shall  reap  a  crop  of  like  kind. 
John  Wesley  sowed  a  century  and  a  quarter  ago 
in  the  streets  and  lanes  of  London,  and  in  the 
mines  of  Kingswood,  and  this  spire  shooting  up 
above  us,  this  beautiful  chapel,  this  nice,  elegant 
congregation,  with  eye  turned  to  the  oracles  of 
God,  and  hearts  pointing  to  the  Cross — in  connec- 


SOWING  AND  REAPING.  463 

tion  with  the  six  or  eight  millions  gathered  in  the 
sanctuary  to-day  in  this  country,  and  the  millions 
in  other  lands,  and  on  the  sides  of  the  sea,  and 
the  enkindled,  glowing  flame  upon  the  altar  of 
other  churches — constitute  but  the  third  or  fourth 
crop,  counting  by  generations,  from  the  original 
sowing.  Contrast  the  two  characters  as  they  are 
thus  exhibited  in  the  text.  Take  the  individual 
who  sows  to  the  flesh.  He  arrives  at  accounta- 
bility. His  mind  is  on  a  balance  between  the  two 
contrary  forces  which  produce  an  equilibrium. 
For  a  time  his  will  is  like  the  swinging  of  the 
beam,  first  up  and  then  down.  He  acts — decides 
with  trepidation.  He  is  horrified  with  crime. 
He  resolves  to  recover  his  feet,  just  beginning  to 
turn  from  the  path  of  rectitude,  of  life.  He  re- 
pents, but  continues  in  the  path  of  sin  and  vice, 
sows  to  the  flesh,  indulges  his  appetites,  desires, 
follows  the  leading  of  his  perverse  heart  ;  after 
awhile  he  is  not  troubled  so  much  about  his  con- 
duct ;  thinks  seldom  of  its  consequences — step 
by  step,  degree  by  degree,  he  progresses.  At 
first  indulging  in  occasional  profanity  ;  now  he  is 
a  street  swearer — with  mouth  all  polluted  with 
oaths  and  obscenity.  At  first  he  played  draughts 
or  dominoes — throwing  an  occasional  card ;  now  he 
is  a  regular  attendant  at  the  gambling  saloon.  At 
first  a  glass  of  wine,  now  he  is  a  reeling,  bloated 
drunkard.    Or  perhaps  he  has  shunned  these  in  ex- 


464  SERMON'S. 

cessive  measures,  and  his  progression  in  wicked- 
ness lias  assumed  some  other  form.  Maintaining  a 
decent  exterior,  he  has  sought  wealth,  bowed  at 
the  shrine  of  mammon.  The  love  of  the  world 
has  now  overridden  and  borne  down  everything 
else;  or  perhaps  honor,  and  his  unscrupulous  am- 
bition, prompts  him  to  sacrifice  everything  for 
promotion  and  emolument.  Observe  him  when 
his  harvest  comes — his  crop  ripens.  If  he  has 
sowed  to  his  appetite,  see  him  on  a  cold  winter 
night,  with  garments  all  tattered  and  torn,  loafing 
about  the  streets  or  lounging  about  the  steps  of 
some  low  rum  house  ;  or  follow  him  to  his  cabin, 
and  see  his  beggared  family  ;  this  is  his  harvest. 
Or  if  gaming,  see  him  as  he  stakes  his  last  penny, 
and  reaps  fits  of  despair  and  wildest  despondency. 
If  wealth,  as  he  stands  upon  his  broad  acres,  or 
counts  his  gold,  his  heart  makes  him  the  more 
miserable.  Follow  him  up  to  the  close  of  his  pro- 
bation, where  the  seeds  he  has  scattered  through 
a  life  of  sin  and  sensual  gratification  are  all  fully 
matured — when  his  evil  principles,  desires,  appe- 
tites, deeds,  words,  and  thoughts,  have  all  ma- 
tured, and  he  thrusts  in  the  sickle  to  reap.  What 
a  crop !  It  is  not  designated  by  the  various 
names  that  might  be  applied — a  crop  of  wealth, 
of  worldly  honor,  or  pleasure,  or  a  matured 
evil  nature — but  all  its  ingredients,  gathered 
together,  husbanded  and  garnered,  is  called  corrup- 


SOWING  AND  REAPING.  465 

tion — corruption.  By  its  very  nature  in  dissolv- 
ing, it  purifies  —  it  turns  to  dust,  to  ashes. 
And  this  is  not  all,  it  corrupts  the  husbandman 
it  taints  his  soul — it  pollutes  it — G-od  loathes  him 
in  his  corrupt  state.  Corrupting,  and  being  cor- 
ruption, it  fails  to  gratify  the  appetites  and  lusts 
which  have  produced  it.  See  him  on  the  brink 
of  the  grave  ;  his  sun  of  life  has  passed  down  the 
heavens  and  is  fast  withdrawing  his  beams.  A  light 
is  struck  into  his  soul  which  wakes  the  flickering 
of  his  expiring  hope — shows  him,  as  the  sudden 
flash  which  comes  out  from  the  bosom  of  the  dark 
storm  cloud  discovers  to  us  the  objects  about  us, 
what  he  is,  and  was,  and  is  to  be,  and  what  he 
might  have  been;  reveals  to  him  in  his  departing 
hour  the  nature  of  the  harvest  he  is  reaping. 
Oh!  what  a  picture  he  presents!  see,  he  clutches 
his  bedclothes,  pushes  the  wall!  see  his  fright- 
ened stare  as  he  reaps  the  harvest  his  own  hands 
have  sown.  All  this,  too,  is  on  this  side  the 
grave;  and  though  awful  to  contemplate,  yet  it  is 
only  a  gleaning  compared  to  the  real  harvest  of 
woe,  of  corruption,  he  reaps  in  hell.  The  oaths 
he  utters  are  chaste  compared  with  the  horrid 
cursings  of  the  infernal  pit;  the  tear  that  stands 
in  his  eye  now  is  a  glittering  dew-drop  compared 
with  the  scalding  drops  that  shall  fall  from  his 
eyes  in  hell;  the  cry  that  breaks  from  his  lips 
now  is  melody  compared  to  his  wail  and  scream 

21 


466  SERMONS. 

when  damned;  the  cravirjgs  of  disease,  and  dis 
tempered   appetites,  and   passions,  are  pleasant 
compared  to  the  gnawing  and  biting  of  the  worm 
that  dieth  not. 

But  we  will  look  upon  that  picture  no  longer. 
"He  that  soweth  to  the  spirit  shall  of  the  spirit 
reap  life  everlasting ;"  reap  everything  the  op- 
posite of  corruption.  See  him  as  he  goes  from 
the  Cross  to  the  crown,  sowing  and  reaping ; 
his  path  rises  up  behind  him  like  a  belt  of 
verdure.  He  sows  in  good  deeds;  he  "sows 
in  the  morning  and  the  evening,  by  the  waters 
and  on  the  highways;"  everywhere  the  golden 
harvests  of  his  blessed  deeds  spread  the  fields 
with  gold.  He  stills  the  widow's  wail  and 
stops  the  orphan's  cry;  he  dispenses  charity,  and 
on  his  right  and  left  a  crop  of  happy  homes  and 
smiling  faces  greet  him.  The  shadows  at  the  last 
thicken  and  close  around,  and  he,  too,  comes 
down  to  the  brink  of  the  grave.  A  light  breaks 
over  his  soul,  but  it  is  the  silver  sheen  that  comes 
flashing  from  the  courts  of  glory.  He  is  as  peace- 
ful and  happy  as  a  summer  zephyr.  He  is  about 
"  to  reap  life,  life  everlasting.'7  The  last  sigh  has 
heaved  his  bosom,  the  last  ache  has  been  felt,  the 
last  groan  uttered  ;  and  as  he  falls  asleep  in  the 
arms  of  Jesus, 

"  The  angel  reapers  then  descend,.' 
And  heaven  sings  'Harvest  Home  I'" 


THE  WORLD  PASSETH  AWAY.  467 


(FUNERAL  SERMON  OF  MRS.  MARGARET  G.  BRUTON,  WIFE 
OF  REY.  D.  R.  BRUTON  OF  THE  N.  C.  CONFERENCE, 
PREACHED  AT  THOMASYILLE,  N.  C,  OCT.  22,  1S64.— Eds.) 

"  And  the  world  passeth  a/way,  and  the  lust  thereof;  but  lie  that  doeth  the 
will  of  God  abideth  for -ever ." — I  John  ii,  17. 


Ill  the  context  God  and  the  world  are  set  forth 
as  objects  of  affection  in  contrast.  The  Apostle 
insists  that  God  should  be  loved  rather  than  the 
world,  and  the  text  is  the  summing  up  of  the 
reason:  "And  the  world  passeth  away  and  the 
lust  thereof;  but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  God 
abideth  forever.''  In  elaborating  this  reason  I 
shall  undertake  to  show  that  God  is  the  true  ob- 
ject of  affection,  by  showing  why  the  world  should 
not  be  loved  in  contrast  with  the  reasons  why 
God  should  be  loved.  The  first  reason  I  offer  is 
drawn  generally  from  the  text  and  context,  which 
is  this :  to  love  the  wtfrlcl  is  a  perversion  of  our 
moral  nature,  and  destructive  of  the  end  of  our 
being;  but  to  love  God  develops  in  us  the  highest 
perfection  of  our  nature. 

The  soul  is  infinite  ;  the  world  is  finite — is  not 
commensurate  with  the  capacity  of  the  soul — has 
not  in  it  the  elements  to  meet  its  wants  and  to 
gratify  its  desires.  It  is  not  necessary  to  adduce 
proof  of  this  assumption.     The  experiences  of  all 


468  SERMONS. 

men  in  all  ages  of  the  world  attest  this  truth. 
We  need,  therefore,  no  stronger  reason  than  this, 
that  the  world  was  not  designed  by  oar  Creator 
as  the  highest  object  of  our  affections.  If  so,  he 
would  have  put  into  it  elements  sufficient  to  meet 
the  wants  of  our  nature,  which  He  had  created. 
If  all  this  be  conceded,  and  there  will  certainly 
be  no  issue  about  assumptions  that  are  even  trite, 
then  to  love  the  world  is  a  perversion  of  our  moral 
nature — is  to  do  violence  to  the  laws  governing 
our  spiritual  being,  and,  consequent^,  must  be 
destructive  of  the  end  of  that  being.  The  laws 
governing  man's  spiritual  constitution  are  as  dis- 
tinct and  as  well  defined  as  the  laws  governing 
his  physical  or  intellectual  nature,  or  the  natural 
laws  of  the  universe  ;  and  the  perversion,  or  sus- 
pension, or  violation  of  one  of  these  laws  govern- 
ing his  spiritual  nature  will  produce  the  same  dis- 
tinctive effect  on  his  spiritual  man  that  a  violation 
of  a,ny  of  the  physical  or  natural  laws  will  pro- 
duce in  the  physical,  intellectual,  or  natural 
world.  Suppose  one  cardinal  law  of  a  planet, 
its  centripetal  force,  should  be  broken,  it  would 
at  once  fty  heedlessly  through  space,  carrying 
ruin  and  wreck  in  its  path.  Suppose  in  the  phy- 
sical man  the  functions  of  the  heart  should  be 
impaired  in  some  way,  its  influence  would  be  felt 
all  through  the  physical  system.  So  in  the  spirit- 
ual constitution  ;    if  the  grand  law  of  its  being, 


THE  WORLD  PASSETH  AWAY.  469 

which  is,  as  Christ  Himself  declared,  that  we  shall 
love  God  with  all  the  heart,  with  all  the  soul,  and 
with  all  the  mind ;  if  this  law  be  broken,  dis- 
cord, confusion,  spiritual  ruin,  and  death  ensue. 
Hence ,  the  Scriptures  represent  the  soul  in  that 
state,  as  the  troubled  sea  casting  up  continually 
mire  and  dirt.  The  whole  man  feels  the  shock — 
the  moral,  the  intellectual  and  even  the  physical 
man.  This  perversion  of  his  moral  nature  occurs, 
at  least  in  part,  this  way.  The  world  being  less 
than  the  soul,  to  grasp  it  necessarily  contracts  it, 
and  this  contracting  process  weakens,  cripples 
and  finally  destroys  the  faculties  of  the  mind  and 
heart.  Take  a  liberal  man,  and  let  him  take 
hold  of  the  world  with  his  affections,  make  it  his 
God,  and  it  will  sap  and  dry  up  the  fountain  of 
his  liberality.  Take  an  educated,  intellectual 
man,  and  let  him  take  hold  of  the  world,  and  his 
intellect  becomes  dwarfed.  On  the  contrary,  a 
man  who  takes  God  as  the  object  of  affection,  his 
heart  and  mind,  in  taking  hold  of  Him,  are  con- 
stantly expanded  to  grasp  Him,  and  he  becomes 
constantly  more  liberal,  and  generous,  and  noble- 
hearted  ;  more  intellectual.  The  effect  may  be 
illustrated  by  the  difference  in  the  effect  from 
reading  a  cookery  book  and  "  Milton's  Paradise 
Lost."  The  effect  of  loving  the  world  is  to  keep 
a  man  down  to  the  earth,  make  him  earthy,  de- 
grade his  affections,  and  contract  his  soul.     To 


470  SERMONS. 

love  God  elevates  him,  elevates  his  affections, 
expands  his  soul;  and  as  the  planet,  obeying  the 
laws  of  its  nature,  twinkles  and  glitters  as  it 
glides  evenly  along  its  orbit,  declaring  the  glory 
of  G-od;  or  as  the  physical  man,  when  all  the  laws 
of  health  are  observed,  develops  itself  into  per- 
fect symmetry  and  healthiness  ;  or  as  the  mind, 
when  all  the  laws  of  intellect  are  obeyed,  comes 
out  in  its  strongest  mould  to  guide  and  govern 
the  world,  so  the  spiritual  man,  when  the  grand 
law  of  its  nature  is  kept  inviolate,  measures  up 
to  its  highest  perfection. 

The  second  reason  I  offer  is  elaborated  from 
the  text.  The  world  should  not  be  the  object  of 
our  affection,  rather  Grod,  because  the  world 
passeth  away  and  G-od  does  not  pass  away. 
Passing  away,  decay  and  death,  are  written  on  all 
things  about  us.  The  scenes  of  earth  are  con- 
stantly shifting  and  changing.  Its  organizations, 
political,  scientific,  social  and  domestic,  are  con- 
stantly passing  away.  The  years  come  and  go, 
building  up  and  pulling  down,  raising  and  level- 
ling. Autumn,  with  its  sere  and  yellow  leaf,  is 
blown  away  by  the  chilling  blasts  of  winter,  and 
the  spring  sun  takes  the  frost  from  the  blast  that 
her  flowers  may  blow  in  the  sunlight,  and  her 
flowers  are  pushed  away  by  Summer's  rich 
fruits.  Thus  they  come  and  go  so  rapidly  that 
one  is  upon  us  before  we  note  the  passing  away 


THE  WORLD  PASSETH  AWAY.  471 

of  the  other.  We  are  born  and  are  men.  and  old 
men,  bending  down  to  the  dust  before  we  wake 
to  the  full  reality  of  an  earthly  existence.  I  am 
now  in  my  fortieth  year.  I  have  been  here  and 
there,  the  scenes  and  incidents  have  been  so  con- 
stantly changing  and  passing  away,  that  this 
seems  hardly  the  same  world  that  it  was  when  I 
first  waked  to  consciousness.  The  first  thing  I 
remember  in  this  life  was  the  smiling  face  of  a 
kind,  affectionate  mother.  Amongst  the  earliest 
things  impressed  on  my  mind  are  the  kind  offices 
she  performed  for  me,  and  her  tender  sympathies. 
Where  is  she  now?  Passed  away!  We  remem- 
ber (I  will  take  you  in,  for  the  experience  of  one, 
with  slight  variations,  is  the  experience  of  us  all) 
the  roof  that  sheltered  us,  the  little  bed  in  which 
we  slept,  the  sand  in  which  we  played,  the  apple 
shade  where  we  built  the  playhouse,  and  from 
whose  blossom  we  caught  the  butterfly ;  the 
meadow  through  which  we  roamed,  and  plucked, 
and  gathered  the  early  flowers,  the  stream  in 
which  we  bathed  and  dropped  the  hook,  the  com- 
panions of  our  childhood,  our  brothers,  our  sis- 
ters, cousins,  and  the  negro  children  too,  whom  we 
found  sharers  of  our  sports;  where  are  they  now  ? 
These  scenes  and  companions  have  passed  away. 
The}r  stand  away  down  in  the  beginning  of  our 
earthly  career,  as  green,  bright  spots  whose  light 
gradually  grows  more  dim  as  they  recede  from 


472  SERMONS. 

us  in  the  flying  years.  We  visit  these  scenes,  and 
the  decayed  stock  is  all  that  is  left  of  the  spread- 
ing tree;  grass,  and  weeds,  and  briars,  have  grown 
over  the  walks  ;  the  meadow  is  given  over  to  the 
frogs  for  the  spring  serenade  ;  the  old  moss-cov- 
ered roof  is  tottering  to  its  fall  ;  the  hearthstone, 
around  which  we  gathered  to  listen  to  recitals  of 
experience  by  our  parents  and  their  guests,  is 
now  breaking  with  seams  and  cracks,  a  nest  for 
the  crickets  only.  On  an  eminence  in  sight  of 
the  house  is  the  grave}Tard,  where  lie  buried  our 
ancestors  and  those  who  were  the  companions  of 
our  youth.  The  leaning  headstones,  bearing  their 
names,  speak  in  a  language  that  we  do  not  mis- 
take, that  the  world  passeth  away.  She,  whose 
memory  we  are  met  to  cherish,  a  short  time  ago 
was  born,  then  became  a  girl,  then  a  young  lady, 
issuing  from  the  halls  of  learning,  with  diploma 
in  hand;  then  presided  over  the  seminary  of  this 
place;  then  was  led  to  the  bridal  altar,  went  from 
the  school  room  to  the  parsonage,  and  was  just 
beginning  the  great  work  of  training  her  family, 
and,  in  the  midst  of  hope  and  promise,  was  struck 
down  and  passed  away  from  earth.  We  stand 
to-day  in  the  track  of  the  desolation  made  by  her 
death  and  catch  the  sentiment  of  the  lamented 
Kirke  White  : 

"Yes,  'twill  be  over  soon.     This  sickly  dream 
Of  life  will  vanish  from  my  feverish  brain  ; 
And  death  ray  wearied  spirit  will  redeem 
From  this  wild  region  of  unvaried  pain." 


THE  WORLD  PASSETH  AWAY.  473 

This  passing  away  attaches  not  only  to  indi- 
viduals in  their  changing  fortunes,  but  to  commu- 
nities, to  states,  to  nations  and  empires.  Where 
now  are  the  mighty  empires  of  Egypt,  Persia, 
Assyria,  Greece  and  Rome  ?  Where  are  their 
ships  and  commerce  ?  Where  are  their  hordes 
of  armies  that  marched  to  conquering  and  to  con- 
quest ?  Where  are  the  tongues  of  eloquence  that 
shook  their  senates  and  reverberated  through  their 
halls  and  courts  ?  Where  are  the  monuments  of 
their  genius  in  the  arts,  in  painting  and  sculp- 
ture ?  They  are  gone — passed  away  !  Even  the 
empires  built  upon  their  ruins,  kingdoms  whose 
foundations  were  laid  in  their  ashes,  have  long 
since  tumbled  to  dust.  We  are  now  rocked  in 
the  throes  of  an  expiring,  passing  empire,  so  that 
we  need  not  visit  the  seats  of  dead  empires  ;  we 
need  not  brush  the  dust  from  their  relics,  dig  up 
their  crushed  arches  and  broken  columns,  for  proof 
that  nations,  and  whatever  makes  up  nations,  pass 
away  ;  for  we  are  eye  witnesses  to  the  fact,  and 
that  they  not  only  pass  away,  but  they  do  so 
with  confusion  and  noise,  and  garments  rolled  in 
blood.  I  offer  this  as  the  reason  the  world  should 
not  be  loved,  in  contrast  with  the  reason  why 
God  should  be — that  He  never  jwsses  away.  He 
is  always  the  same,  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for- 
ever. He  is  the  same  in  all  His  relations  to  us, 
the  same  in  His  power  to  bless,  to  satisfy  and 
gratify  the  longing  of  the  soul.     The  soul  of  man 

21* 


474  SERMONS. 

is  immortal.  The  time  was  when  it  existed  not  ; 
but  once  given,  created  of  God,  the  time  never 
comes  when  it  ceases  to  exist.  It  reasons,  thinks, 
judges,  compares,  and  enjoys.  These  attributes 
distinguish  it  from  matter  and  show  its  suscepti- 
bility of  alliance  and  companionship  with  G-od — ■ 
with  Him  who  is  eternal.  In  looking  at  the  na- 
ture of  the  soul  and  the  nature  of  things  about  us, 
we  do  not  fail  to  be  struck  with  the  fact  that  here 
the  soul  appears  to  be  in  an  uncongenial  clime, 
surrounded  by  objects  and  scenes  unsuited  to 
its  nature.  It  pants  for  happiness,  which  it 
cannot  derive  from  this  world.  It  wants  some- 
thing that  is  solid  and  enduring.  It  grasps,  and 
scarcely  is  the  object  possessed  ere  it  is  gone 
again,  reaching  after  something  else.  It  hastens 
from  enterprise  to  enterprise,  flies  from  object  to 
object,  and  in  disappointment  chafes  and  frets  in 
its  prison  of  clay,  beating  the  bars  of  flesh  that 
confine  it,  until  it  takes  hold  of  God  and  learns 
the  lesson  of  the  text.  Then  it  learns  that  the 
only  way  in  which  happiness  may  be  secured  is 
by  obedience  to  the  will  of  God,  which  will  direct 
us  to  himself,  the  Eternal  Being,  whose  attributes 
are  commensurate  with  the  faculties  of  the  soul, 
as  the  object  of  our  love  and  the  source  of  our 
joy.     Then  it  learns  that 

"  The  world  can  never  give 
The  bliss  for  which  we  sigh  ; 
'Tis  not  the  whole  of  life  to  live, 
Nor  all  of  death  to  die." 


MISSIONARY  ADDRESS.  475 


(DELIVERED  AT  THE  ANNIVERSARY  OF  TEE  MISSIONARY 
SOCIETY  OF  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  CONFERENCE  AT  RA- 
LEIGH, N  C,  DEC,  1862.— Eds.) 


Mr.  President  : 

We  are  met  to  celebrate  the  anniversary  of  this 
society.  The  exercises  of  this  evening  call  up 
pleasant  reminiscences.  The  rolls  of  this  society 
present  many  names  that  are  precious  in  our  mem- 
ories. We  see  now  their  faces  as  they  appear 
mingling  in  scenes  similar  to  these.  Many  of 
them  have  labored  and  passed  away,  others  are 
with  us  still.  New  names  have  been  entered,  and 
we  meet  to  water  the  seeds  they  scattered  and  to 
sow  afresh.  It  is  an  hour  of  interest.  We  come 
to  catch  from  the  altar  erected  by  our  fathers 
fresh  fire  to  our  zeal ;  to  exchange  the  word  of 
cheer  and  G-od  speed  ;  to  take  counsel  together 
in  a  review  of  this  great  question  and  our  connec- 
tion with  it,  and  to  look  not  only  to  the  past,  to 
what  has  been  done,  but  to  look  forward  to  the 
future,  to  what  has  to  be  done.  We  are  not  here 
to  put  the  Gospel  up  at  auction,  to  be  knocked 
down  to  the  highest  bidder.  It  is  not  money  so 
much  as  proper  views  and  right  sentiments  we 
want. 
;:-^The  idea  of  evangelizing  the  world  is  a  grand 


476  MISSIONARY  ADDRESS. 

one.  This  "claiming  the  heathen  for  an  inher- 
itance, and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  a 
possession,"  is  bold  and  God-like.  It  very  well 
accords  with  speaking  worlds  from  naught. 

It  is  the  grand  idea  of  earth.  It  is  the  great 
central  truth  from  which  all  truth  emanates,  and 
around  which  truth  in  every  place  will  ultimately 
cluster.  It  is  the  philosophy  of  this  planet.  In 
it  is  to  be  found  the  reason  for  the  world.  With- 
out it,  man  is  an  enigma  and  all  things  are  mean- 
ingless. God  would  not  have  made  this  earth,  and 
man,  and  flesh,  and  fish,  and  fowl,  the  towering 
mountains,  the  roaring  seas,  the  flowing  streams, 
the  waving  forests,  but  to  illustrate  His  power, 
and  wisdom,  and  love,  in  redeeming  a  race  when 
fallen.  Man  is  the  instrument  through  which  the 
idea  is  to  be  perfected  and  the  end  consummated. 
This  grand  scheme  addresses  itself  first  to  the 
preacher,  whom  God  has  called  by  His  Spirit 
and  set  apart  and  commissioned  for  the  work  of 
spreading  a  knowledge  of  His  truth.  In  the 
name  of  God  they  are  to  go  forward  and  lead 
and  control  this  stupendous  movement.  I  fear 
they  have  not  in  this  era  arisen  to  a  full  appre- 
ciation of  their  connection  with  it.  A  few  years- 
ago  I  was  struck  with  an  article  which  appeared 
in  the  Southern  Literary  Messenger,  copied  exten- 
sively in  the  journals  of  the  country,  entitled 
"The  Inefficiency  of  the  Pulpit."     The  author  of 


MISSIONARY  ADDRESS.  477 

the  article  took  the  bold  ground  that  the  pulpit 
accomplished  less  than  the  same  time,  and  talents, 
and  learning,  and  wealth,  and  influence,  exerted 
in  any  other  direction;  and  undertook  to  account 
for  it.  He  told  what  gentlemen  of  the  legal  pro- 
fession accomplished,  how  much  the  politician  did, 
and  the  statesman.  The  argument  was  ingenious 
and  plausible,  and  was  generall}T  accepted  as 
true  in  sustaining  the  assumption.  Nevertheless, 
there  were  those  who  then  and  now  dissent  from 
the  view.  Who  can  tell  what  the  pulpit  accom- 
plishes ?  Who  can  measure  its  work?  He  who 
does  it  must  have  a  measuring  rod  sufficient  to 
reach  the  greatest  heights  of  the  glory  of  the 
redeemed,  and  long  enough  to  touch  the  lowest 
depths  of  the  shame  of  the  damned.  He  must 
tell  us  what  would  be  the  effect  upon  the  world  of 
a  removal  of  the  pulpit.  He  must  tell  us  faith- 
full}T  of  the  opposition  presented  by  the  world, 
the  carnal  mind,  and  the  devil,  with  which  the 
pulpit  contends,  and  over  which  it  triumphs.  To 
compare  the  achievements  of  the  pulpit  to  that  of 
the  bar,  or  forum,  or  stump,  is  to  compare  natural 
things  with  eternal;  is  like  drawing  a  contrast  be- 
tween apples  that  turn  to  ashes  and  the  fruit  of 
the  tree  that  grows  in  the  midst  of  the  paradise 
of  God,  or  between  the  rivulet  that  evaporates 
in  the  sunlight  to  the  stream  that  makes  glad  the 
city  of  God,  or  the  sorrow  of  earth  to  the  worm 


478  MISSIONARY  ADDRESS. 

that  dietli  not.  The  assumption  is  false,  and  the 
writer  shows  himself  not  to  be  master  of  his 
theme.  But  this  much  may  and  must  be  con- 
ceded, that  the  pulpit,  as  the  exponent  and  repre- 
sentative of  the  Church  of  Christ,  is  not  accom- 
plishing what  it  should.  Having  the  natural  in- 
tellect which  it  possesses,  and  the  amount  of 
learning;  having  control  of  the  press  of  Christen- 
dom and  the  education  of  each  generation  as  it 
comes  on  in  succession;  wielding  immense  wealth 
and  almost  unbounded  influence;  upheld  by  con- 
stitutions and  fostered  by  statutes;  and,  above  all, 
backed  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  cheered  on  and 
sustained  with  the  promise,  "lo,  I  am  with  you 
alwa}T;"  the  world  ought,  notwithstanding  the 
opposition,  vast  and  immeasurable  though  it  be, 
long  ago  to  have  been  converted  to  the  Cross,  if 
the  pulpit  had  thoroughly  and  genuinely  the 
spirit  of  Christ.  Will  you  have  the  proof?  Get 
out  your  commission.  If  we  did  not  know,  we 
would  hardly  suspect  its  true  character.  We 
would  suppose,  that  instead  of  reading,  "Go  into 
all  the  world  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every 
creature,"  it  read,  go  home  and  preach  the  Gospel 
to  a  few  creatures.  The  preachers  of  Christen- 
dom have  been  and  are  now  crowding  each  other 
for  the  inside  track  at  home,  instead  of  spreading 
out  and  pressing  the  unbroken  wilds  of  the  fron- 
tiers and  pushing  the  conquests  of  the  Redeemer's 


MISSIONARY  ADDRESS.  479 

kingdom  into  the  heart  of  heathendom.  Take  a 
map  of  the  world.  There  are  about  one  billion 
of  population.  About  three  fourths  of  this  vast 
number  never  heard  of  Jesus,  though  He  died 
more  than  eighteen  centuries  ago.  Look  at  Rus- 
sia, extending  from  the  Baltic  to  the  Pacific,  and 
containing  a  population  of  about  fifty-seven  mil- 
lions, and  not  a  dozen  missionaries  in  it.  There 
is  China,  with  a  population  of  about  three  hun- 
dred millions,  and  not  more  than  four  or  five 
dozen  missionaries.  Then  look  at  the  countries 
lying  on  the  Indian  Ocean  :  Siam,  with  two  mil- 
lions; Birmah,  with  eleven  millions;  Hindostan, 
with  one  hundred  and  twenty  millions,  and  not 
one  Christian  teacher  to  the  million;  and  there  is 
Persia,  with  eleven  millions,  and  Arabia,  with 
twelve  millions,  and  not  until  a  few  years  ago  a 
single  missionary;  and  Africa,  with  one  hundred 
and  ten  millions,  and  not  a  Christian  teacher  to 
the  million;  and  the  isles  of  the  sea  mourn.  Now 
look  at  Christendom.  The  United  States  and 
Confederate  States,  with  about  thirty  millions, 
and  about  twenty  thousand  preachers,  and  in 
addition  several  thousand  young  men  in  training. 
The  same  state  of  things  in  England,  only  more 
crowded  with  preachers,  and  pretty  nearly  the 
same  throughout  all  Christendom. 

Why,  in  some  of  our  cities  there  is  a  preacher 
to  every  thousand,  and  in  many  villages  of  a  few 


480  MISSIONARY  ADDRESS. 

hundred  inhabitants  there  are  three  or  four 
preachers  of  different  denominations  watching 
and  scheming  against  each  other  ;  and  these  men, 
with  a  commission  in  their  hands  to  go  into  all  the 
world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature. 
It  is  absolutely  ridiculous  in  the  sight  of  high 
Heaven.  Partyism  is  the  ruling  spirit  of  the 
hour.  There  is  a  greater  spirit  by  far  to  build  up 
sects  out  of  sects  than  there  is  to  win  the  poor 
heathen  to  Christ.  The  United  States  can  this 
day  spare  five  thousand  preachers  at  least  to  the 
heathen.  There  are  too  many  preachers  and  too 
much  preaching  in  this  country.  It  has  in  some 
measure  lost  its  effect.  It  is  diluted,  and  drawn 
out,  and  spun  out,  until  there  is  much  of  it  that  is 
not  much  account  for  the  purpose  of  saving  souls. 
Not  too  much  assembling  together  and  reading 
God's  word  and  prayer,  but  too  much  preaching, 
fine  preaching,  eloquent  preaching,  and  taking 
preaching.  It  is  astonishing  what  little  gospel 
truth  it  does  actually  require  to  give  you  a  full 
house.  Now,  Mr.  President,  we  need  some  grand 
movement  on  the  part  of  G-od's  preachers  in 
Christendom.  We  need  a  race  of  moral  heroes, 
a  whole  race  of  men  of  faith  and  ready  for  sacri- 
fice, to  throw  themselves  upon  the  bosom  of  hea- 
thendom with  flaming  hearts  and  burning  zeal. 
Ah !  one  is  ready  to  say,  how  can  they  be  sus- 
tained ? — we    have    not  the  means,    no   banking 


MISSIONARY  ADDRESS.  481 

house  upon  which  they  can  draw.  God  has  inex- 
haustible vaults  of  incorruptible  treasure.  The 
only  difficulty  is,  that  his  credit  is  not  good  at  our 
counters.  His  notes  of  promise  are  at  too  great 
a  discount  to  meet  the  case.  It  is  faith  that  is 
needed.  It  appears  wild  and  fanatical.  There  is 
a  great  deal  in  God's  revealed  plans  that  thus  ap- 
pears when  viewed  through  human  glasses  and 
brought  to  the  standard  of  human  calculation. 
Men  walk  and  work  by  sight.  God  has  arranged 
for  His  servants  to  do  so  by  faith.  But,  after  all, 
this  plan  is  not  so  quixotic  as  first  appears,  even 
on  the  basis  of  human  calculations.  It  seems 
that  any  man  whom  God  thinks  is  smart  enough 
to  preach  the  gospel  has  sense  enough  to  take  care 
of  himself,  even  amongst  heathen,  particularly  if 
God  will  help  by  a  few  strokes  of  His  especial 
providence.  Why,  the  common  explorer  can  do 
it  ;  the  merchant  can  do  it  ;  and  why  can't  the 
preacher  ?  Mr.  President,  we  need  a  grand 
movement,  We  must  quit  this  bark-mill  process, 
treading  the  same  round  all  the  time.  We  must 
quit  this  sailing  all  the  time  in  sight  of  land.  We 
must  cut  loose  our  moorings  and  try  the  great 
deep.  We  must  quit  consulting  ease  and  comfort 
so  much.  We  must  quit  our  ambition  for  emi- 
nence and  distinction  in  the  sacred  desk.  We 
must  quit  our  calculations  to  the  exact  amount  we 
can  make  of  the  business  of  preaching.    We  must 


482  MISSIONARY  ADDRESS. 

have  a  revolution,  and  now  is  the  time.  The 
thunder  and  roar  of  revolution  is  heard  through 
all  the  land.  Who  can  tell  but  that  its  voice 
is  intended  to  awake  us  from  our  lethargy, 
and  arouse  us  to  action?  There  is  a  mighty 
upheaving  just  now  of  our  social  and  political 
systems.  Who  can  tell  but  that  God  intends 
through  it  to  shake  us  from  our  foundations, 
and  set  us  adrift  in  the  right  direction  ?  Lord 
God  of  Abraham,  of  Isaac  and  of  Jacob,  if  thou 
art  speaking,  help  us  rightly  to  interpret  thy  ut- 
terances !  Suppose  these  five  thousand  preach- 
ers should  gather  in  Boston,  New  York,  Balti- 
more, Richmond,  Charleston  and  New  Orleans, 
baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  panting  for  the 
world's  redemption,  I  shouid  have  more  faith  in 
its  raising  the  blockade  from  Southern  ports  than 
I  have  that  England  and  France  will  ever  do  it. 
What  a  grand  spectacle,  as  they  stand  upon  the 
shores,  lighted  up  by  the  rays  of  the  Cross. 
Hear  them,  "  we  have  no  purse  or  scrip,  but  we 
have  hands,  we  can  make  tents  if  need  be.  In 
the  name  of  Jesus  and  on  the  credit  of  Heaven  we 
go.  Oh,  thou  Unseen,  stand  by  us  always,  even 
to  the  end,  as  promised."  I  tell  you  it  would 
arrest  the  attention  of  the  civilized  world.  They 
would  begin  to  think  we  were  in  earnest  about  the 
business  we  have  in  hand  ;  that  we  meant  what 
we  said.     It  would  shake  the  Church  of  God  like 


MISSIONARY  ADDRESS.  483 

an  earthquake.  Hell  would  tremble  and  the  devil 
would  be  struck  dumb,  and  hush  his  roaring  before 
the  spectacle. 

This  grand  scheme  addresses  itself  also  to  the 
laity.  The  preacher  stands  with  the  commission 
in  his  hands  and  appeals  to  the  Church  :  "  I'll 
go."  It  is  the  duty  of  the  Church  to  send 
him.  I  undertake  here  in  this  place  to  show  that 
the  Church  has  not  Christ's  plan  of  evangelizing 
the  world,  and  that  this  robs  her  of  her  power. 
We  are  taught  that  unless  we  have  the  spirit  of 
Christ  we  are  none  of  His,  we  have  none  of  His 
power.  What  was  His  spirit  ?  He  saved  a  lost 
and  ruined  world.  To  save  it  he  had  the  spirit  to 
surrender  His  glory,  and  whatever  else  He  had  with 
the  Father,  and  make  Himself  poor  ;  He  had  the 
spirit  to  endure  toil  and  hardships,  and  submit  to 
humiliation;  He  had  the  spirit  to  die,  even,  that  the 
end  might  be  accomplished.  Now  here  is  a  vast 
majority  of  the  world's  population  bound  in  dark- 
ness and  superstition.  Has  the  Church  the  spirit 
to  make  herself  poor  that  they  may  be  saved  ?  It 
is  said  that  it  is  not  a  parallel  case  ;  that  if  Christ 
had  not  become  poor  the  world  could  not  have 
been  saved  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the  heathen 
may  be  saved  if  they  follow  their  best  light, 
though  the  G-ospel  may  not  be  sent  to  them.  Al- 
low that  they  are  saved  if  they  follow  their  best 
light,  which  I  believe  is  true,  because  all  that  any 


484  MISSIONARY  ADDRESS. 

can  do  is  to  do  the  best  they  know  how.  To  re- 
quire more  than  this  is  to  require  an  impossibility, 
which  is  absurd.  Allow  that  they  are  saved 
without  the  Gospel,  the  Church  may  be  damned 
with  it  for  disobedience.  Men's  souls  may  perish 
all  around  the  Cross  because  the  Church  has  lost 
the  spirit  of  the  Master.  It  is  patent  to  the  ob- 
servation of  every  Christian,  that  the  large  major- 
ity of  those  who  live  in  sight  of  the  Cross  and  the 
sound  of  the  Gospel,  perish.  Why  is  this?  Who 
can  doubt  that  it  is  attributable,  in  great  measure, 
to  the  disobedience  of  the  Church  to  the  highest 
command  of  her  great  Head  ?  The  question  stands 
thus,  then :  Has  the  Church  the  spirit  to  make 
herself  poor  that  she  may  save,  not  only  the 
heathen,  but  her  own  children  ?  Who  doubts  that 
if  the  Church  should  do  her  whole  duty  in  giving 
of  her  substance  to  the  world's  evangelization, 
should  say  to  the  preachers,  "Now,  for  as  many 
of  you  as  God  calls  to  go,  here  is  the  money. 
Give  yourselves  no  uneasiness.  Your  bills  shall 
all  be  footed  ;"  and  with  prayer,  warm  and 
glowing,  should  lay  on  the  altar  the  sacrifice — 
who  doubts,  I  say,  but  that  she  would  have  ten- 
fold more  of  power  to  save  people  at  home  ?  The 
zeal  it  would  generate,  the  interest  it  would  ex- 
cite, the  thought  and  talk  it  would  arouse,  would 
set  all  this  land  in  a  blaze. 

But  this  is  not  the  worst  of  her  case.     She  is 


MISSIONARY  ADDRESS.  485 

not  required  to  make  herself  poor,  but  simply  to 
set  apart  a  portion  of  the  wealth  with  which  G-od 
entrusts  her — a  reasonable  portion  only.  This  I 
undertake  to  show  she  refuses  to  do.  Take  the 
Church  embraced  in  the  North  Carolina  Confer- 
ence (and  she  is  doing  as  much,  and  perhaps 
more,  than  any  other  denomination).  This  Confer- 
ence has  had  a  separate,  independent  existence 
for  about  twenty-five  years.  She  has  raised,  as 
an  average,  $5,000  annually  for  missions,  which 
would  make  $125,000  in  twenty-five  years  for 
this  purpose.  This  comes  from  about  $20,000,000 
of  wealth,  so  that  the  Methodist  Church  in  the 
North  Carolina  Conference  has  been  making  $20,- 
000,000  pay  $5,000  a  year  towards  evangelizing 
the  world.  This  is  a  bold  stroke  for  the  world's 
redemption !  and  no  other  branch  of  the  Church  is 
doing  any  more — some  less.  Ah,  Mr.  President, 
many  a  long  century  of  darkness  is  to  rest  upon 
the  bosom  of  the  earth  at  this  rate.  Many,  many 
millions  of  souls  unborn  are  to  come  and  pass 
away  without  light,  for  eighteen  hundred  years 
and  more  have  passed  away,  and  the  twilight  of 
the  glorious  era  of  the  world's  redemption  is 
scarcely  seen  gilding  the  horizon  of  the  spiritual 
sky  ;  and  the  hope  of  the  heathen  is  that  the  whole 
Church  is  to  pay,  with  the  slow  improvement  that 
has  marked  the  past,  in  the  ratio  of  $5,000  annu- 
ally for  every  $20,000,000  "until  every  knee 
shall  bow." 


486  MISSIONARY  ADDRESS. 

This  is  not  all.  Let  us  see  how  this  sum  is 
contributed.  I  can  truthfully  state,  and  the 
statement  will  accord  with  the  experience  of  my 
brethren,  that  the  greater  part  of  the  money 
I  have  collected  for  missions  has  been,  in  a  meas- 
ure, wrung  from  the  Church.  Now  and  then  I 
have  met  with  a  few  having  right  views  on  the 
subject,  who  have  sought  me  out  to  contribute; 
a  few  who  did  it  as  a  duty,  cheerfully,  in  the 
spirit  in  which  they  gave  me  as  a  disciple  my  food 
and  entertainment ;  but  most  generally  it  has  been 
done  from  the  force  of  circumstances,  because  there 
has  been  no  way  to  get  clear  of  it  without  criti- 
cism. The  scraps  and  crumbs  of  gains  have  been 
given,  and  these  even  withheld  if  anything  like  a 
plausible  excuse  was  at  hand.  I  will  warrant 
there  are  some  respectable,  wealthy  Methodists 
here  to-night  who  have  put  themselves  in  a  posi- 
tion to  hear  the  speeches  and  then  dodge  the  col- 
lection. God  bless  you,  my  dear  brother,  stand 
up  boldly  and  face  the  question  like  a  man.  We 
don't  want  your  money  so  much.  I  would  rather 
drop  a  right  thought  into  your  mind  than  take  a 
hundred  dollars  out  of  your  pocket ;  for  when  you 
get  to  have  right  views,  become  to  be  impressed 
with  a  right  understanding  of  this  question,  then 
your  money  will  come.  The  point  I  make  and 
argue  is,  that  the  Church  of  Christ  has  not  the 
spirit  of  His  plan  of  evangelizing  the  world.     In- 


MISSIONARY  ADDRESS.  487 

stead  of  having  the  spirit  to  make  herself  poor,  if 
need  be,  to  save  the  world,  or  even  to  offer  a  just 
and  reasonable  portion  of  her  wealth,  she  has  too 
much  of  the  opposite  spirit,  the  spirit  to  make  her- 
self rich  and  to  save  herself  alone.  She  has  too 
much  of  the  spirit  to  trust  in  horses  and  chariots, 
and  lift  herself  above  mangers,  and  poor  people, 
and  heathen  people,  and  put  herself  along  in 
company  with  the  rich,  and  learned,  and  great. 
By  the  spirit  of  withholding  her  money  and  trust- 
ing to  human  instrumentalities  she  is  shorn  of  her 
power.  By  failing  to  apprehend  her  true  mission 
on  earth,  and  turning  a  deaf  ear  to  Christ's  com- 
mand, "  Go  into  all  the  world/'  toil,  labor,  and 
die,  if  need  be,  she  becomes  paralyzed  in  moral 
power.  This  is  seen  in  the  efforts  she  does  make 
to  evangelize  the  world.  Her  missionary  sta- 
tions languish,  though  they  are  well  planned 
and  set.  Her  missionaries  get  sick,  or  die,  or 
come  home.  Those  who  stay  stand  amidst  the 
darkness  that  surrounds  them  like  lone  twink- 
ling stars  on  the. black  brow  of  night.  They 
look  to  the  stupendous  task  before  them,  millions 
and  millions  of  people  to  be  instructed,  whom 
they  never  can  hope  to  reach,  but  little  sympa- 
thy and  prayer  at  home.  I  reckon  many  a  poor 
missionary  is  glad  when  the  summons  comes  to 
call  him  from  labor  and  toil  to  rest  and  re- 
ward. 


488  MISSIONARY  ADDRESS. 

This  lack  of  moral  power  is  seen  in  connection 
with   the  influence   the   Church  exerts  at  home. 
Hundreds  who  have  tasted  of  the  powers  of  the 
world  to   come  are  found  in  all  the  walks  of  life, 
away  from  her  altars.     She  undertakes  to  rebuke 
sin,  and  the  voice  she  lifts  goes  unheeded.     Cor- 
ruption in  government,  and  vice  in  every  form  in 
society,  put  her  authority  at  defiance,  and  walk 
out  in  the  light  of  heaven.     The  truth  I  am  ut- 
tering has  been   most  wonderfully  and   signally 
manifest  for  the  last  twent}T  months.     The  Presi- 
dent of  this  Confederacy^,  as  he  had  the  right  to 
expect,  thought  that  the   Church   could  aid  his 
cause  in  turning  back  the  tide  of  invasion  thrown 
upon  our    borders,  and  which  threatens  every- 
thing dear  and  precious  to  us.      He  has  from 
time  to  time  urged  the  Church  to  call  upon  her 
God,  who   always   defends  the  right.     She  has 
done  it.     She  has  gone  up  to  her  sanctuaries  on 
the  appointed  clays.     Men  have  prayed,  women 
have  prayed  and  called  aloud.     Old  men  have 
wept  bitter  tears  in  the  sight  of  heaven;  still  the 
cloud,  dark  and  black,  flinging  its  shadow  across 
every  hearthstone,  thickens  ;  no  line  of  light  ap- 
pears at  its  base,  no  bow  arches  its  black  folds. 
The  blood  of  the  flower  of  this  land  still  in  effu- 
sion gushes.     The  demon  of  war,  like  ten  thou- 
sand thousand  horse  leeches,  cries  more  loudly 
for  blood.     The  cries  of  widowhood  and  orphan- 


MISSIONARY  ADDRESS.  489 

age  become  more  and  more  familiar.  G-aunt 
want,  like  a  famishing  wolf,  approaches  nearer 
and  still  nearer  the  doors  of  tens  of  thousands 
of  families  in  this  land,  and  there  stands  in  the 
future  a  terrible  unseen,  a  dreaded  unknown, 
something  no  one  can  define  ;  and  as  the  prayers 
ascend,  the  heavens  give  down  the  sound  of  brass 
and  the  earth  is  more  and  more  like  iron.  Who 
can  longer  doubt  but  that  God  has  a  controversy 
with  His  Church — that  He  is  angry  with  her? 
Why,  ten  righteous  persons  would  have  saved 
Sodom!  Oh,  my  fellow  laborers,  my  brethren, 
my  countrymen,  it  is  a  fearful  thing  to  fall  into 
the  hands  of  the  living  God !  In  seeking  the 
cause,  it  is  enough  to  know  that  His  Church  has 
set  at  naught  His  hio-hest  command.  To  this 
source  all  other  evils  might  be  traced.  God  does 
not  intend  that  His  authority  shall  forever  be 
disregarded,  that  His  cause  shall  forever  be 
trampled  in  the  dust.  Now,  as  amongst  the 
preachers,  so  also,  amongst  the  laity,  we  need  a 
revolution.  And  it  will  come.  I  am  not  an  in- 
spired prophet,  but  it  will  come.  The  darkness 
of  the  hour  is  that  which  precedes  the  coming 
dawn.  There  may  be  much  more  suffering. 
Blood,  and  tears,  and  ashes,  may  be  the  heri- 
tage of  this  generation,  but  if  any  one  discerns 
any  light  at  all,  it  is  the  twilight  of  a  glorious  era 
shortly  to  be  ushered  in.     This  baptism  of  blood 


490         SABBATH  SCHOOL  ADDRESS. 

and  fire  means  something  more  than  appears 
upon  the  surface. 

"  God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way 
His  wonders  to  perform : 
He  plants  His  footsteps  in  the  sea, 
And  rides  upon  the  storm." 

I  trust  that  revolution  is  begun,  and  here  at  the 
capital  of  the  State,  in  the  midst  of  the  repre- 
sentative men  of  the  Church  of  this  and  other 
denominations,  is  a  good  place  and  time  to  give 
it  an  impetus.  Let  us  all,  by  laying  first  our 
hearts  upon  the  Cross  of  Christ  and  then  our 
purses,  in  the  midst  of  the  thunder,  and  roar,  and 
wail  of  the  storm  that  is  shaking  this  continent, 
let  us  lift  up  our  cry.  Roll  on,  thou  mighty  tide 
that  shall  bear  us  in  sight  of  land  !  Swell  up,  ye 
angry  waves  whose  bosom  shall  bear  us  into  the 
desired  haven  !  And  after  awhile  our  great  Cap- 
tain will  be  heard  crying  in  the  silver  tones  of 
that  voice  that  has  calmed  tumults  before,  "Peace, 
be  still.7' 


(DELIVERED  BEFORE  THE  N.  C.  CONFERENCE  SUNDAY 
SCHOOL  SOCIETY,  AT  THE  SESSION  OF  THE  N.  C.  CONFER- 
ENCE IN  NEWBERN,  N.  C,  IN  1869.— Eds.) 


Mr.  President: 

We   are   here    to  promote  the  cause  of  Sab- 
bath schools.     Whatever  tends  to  increased  in- 


SABBATH  SCHOOL  ADDRESS.         491 

terest  on  this  subject  is  the  proper  subject,  I 
take  it,  for  this  occasion.  I  am  pleased  to  serve 
you,  if  I  can  do  so  in  a  manner  to  aid  in  accom- 
plishing the  end  you  have  in  view.  The  theme 
of  my  discourse  has  not  been  furnished  me,  and 
so  I  am  left  to  tread  the  path  of  my  own  choos- 
ing, to  follow  the  line  of  thought  of  my  own 
suggesting.  To  aid  in  speaking  and  listening,  I 
announce  as  the  theme  of  the  remarks  which  I 
shall  submit:  "The  claims  of  the  Sabbath  school 
upon  the  parent,  the  patriot,  and  the  Christian." 

There  is  an  instinct  in  man,  and  beast,  and 
bird,  that  prompts  the  tenderest  watchfulness 
and  care  for  offspring.  The  faintest  cry  of  the 
fledgling  arouses  all  the  maternal  anxiety,  and 
the  slightest  attack  from  without  calls  forth  the 
grandest  display  of  heroism.  The  wild  beast  of 
the  jungle,  that  snaps  and  snarls  at  all  others, 
grows  loving,  even  to  fondling  and  playfulness, 
in  the  presence  of  its  young.  Even  the  tameless 
and  bilious  hyena,  when  shut  in  its  den  with  its 
offspring,  takes  the  spirit  of  maternal  affection 
and  tenderness.  This  instinct  in  man  becomes 
intensified  by  reason,  and,  consequently,  the 
strongest  law  of  our  nature.  There  is  nothing 
in  strength  like  a  mother's  affection  for  her 
child ;  no  force  can  break  it,  no  treatment  can 
wither  it.  The  son  may  lift  up  his  heel  against 
her;  dead  to  all  the  instincts  of  virtue,  he  may 


/ 

492         SABBATH  SCHOOL  ADDRESS. 

contemn  her  authority,  curse  away  the  influence 
other  prayers  and  precepts;  he  may  sink  to  the 
lowest  depths  of  infamy  and  crime,  and  she  will 
still  follow  him  with  the  tenderest  solicitude  and 
the  profoundest  anxiety.  She  will  visit  him  in 
prison,  with  breaking  heart  will  hang  around 
the  scaffold  upon  which  he  is  executed,  and  beg 
his  body  and  bury  it  in  her  garden,  and  plant 
flowers  over  his  grave,  and  water  them  daily 
with  her  tears.  A  little  less  only  is  a  father's 
care  and  affection.  No  more  beautiful  nor  striking 
picture  is  presented  than  that  of  the  hard-fisted 
father,  who  toils  all  the  live-long  clay,  and  sits 
through  the  shadows  of  the  lonely  night,  watch- 
ing and  rocking  his  sick  and  suffering  babe. 
Parents  toil  and  work  for  their  children;  deny 
themselves  comfort,  that  they  may  gratify  their 
wants;  clothe  themselves  scantily,  that  they  may 
decorate  their  persons;  walk,  that  they  may  ride; 
stay  at  home,  that  they  may  go  abroad;  night  and 
day  economize;  sow,  dig,  add  acre  to  acre,  dollar 
to  dollar ;  in  a  word,  live  for  them  and  die  for 
them.  All  this  is  but  following  the  promptings 
of  instinct.  We  have  no  quarrel  to  make  with 
it.  We  can  no  more  prevent  its  operation  than 
we  can  remove  from  the  eye  its  affinity  for  light. 
The  point  I  wish  to  make  is,  that  its  operation 
should  be  so  enlarged  in  its  scope,  its  aim,  and 
solicitude,  as  to  take  in  the  spiritual,  the  eternal 


SABBATH  SCHOOL  ADDRESS.         493 

interests  of  posterity,  as  well  as  temporal  good 
and  prosperity.  If  this  were  done,  in  a  few  gene- 
rations the  whole  world  would  be  brought  to 
Christ.  And  the  point,  further,  which  I  wish  to 
make,  is  to  suggest  for  the  enlargement  of  the 
operation  of  this  principle,  and  thereby  show  the 
claim  of  the  Sabbath  school  upon  the  parent. 

Two  things  are  essential  to  the  proper  training 
of  children  :  faith  in  their  parents,  and  submission 
to  their  will.  Faith  is  the  grand  law  of  life;  it  is 
the  pivot  upon  which  our  whole  existence  turns. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  enlarge  upon  this  point. 
We  eat,  sleep,  work,  talk,  love,  hate,  fight  and 
keep  the  peace,  by  faith.  We  do  all  things  we  do, 
and  leave  undone  all  things  we  do  not  do,  by 
faith.  Our  faith  links  us  to  the  object  of  our  be- 
lief, and  is  the  medium  of  the  impartation,  in  a 
greater  or  less  degree,  as  it  is  the  strength  of  the 
nature,  the  life,  and  the  principle  of  the  object. 
If  we  are  connected  with  Christ  by  a  living  faith, 
the  life  of  Christ  is  communicated  through  it  to 
us,  and  His  life  is  our  life.  So  with  every  object 
with  which  we  are  connected  hj  faith.  If  we  be- 
lieve in  the  devil,  and  are  connected  with  him  by 
faith;  the  devil's  life  will  be  our  life.  Children 
seek  an  object  of  faith  by  instinct.  This  prin- 
ciple in  their  nature,  as  soon  as  they  begin  to 
think  and  act,  anchors  itself  in  something  or  in 
somebody.     Virtuous,  obedient  children  of  vir- 


494         SABBATH  SCHOOL  ADDRESS. 

tuous  parents  are  such  by  the  faith  they  have  in 
their  parents.  Wicked  and  vicious  children  of 
wicked,  vicious  parents,  are  such  by  the  faith  they 
have  in  their  parents.  And  to  the  contrary, 
wicked  and  vicious  children  of  virtuous  Christian 
parents  are  such  because  they  have  no  faith  in 
their  parents.  These  parents  have  lived  in  such 
a  way  as  that  their  children  have  no  faith  in  them. 
The  great  point  to  be  gained  in  training  a  child 
is  to  win  its  confidence.  If  he  believes  in  his 
parent,  he  copies  him  externally  and  internally; 
he  follows  his  example  and  imbibes  his  senti- 
ments. This  confidence  may  be  early  won  by  a 
consistent  life,  and  by  never  disappointing  his 
expectations.  Then,  through  this  faith,  it  is  an 
easy  mattter  to  subdue  the  will  of  the  child  to 
the  will  of  the  parent — break  it  down  in  subjec- 
tion to  the  will  of  the  parent. 

When  this  is  done,  it  becomes  an  easy  matter  to 
direct  the  faith  of  the  child  to  G-od  as  the  true 
object  of  its  exercise,  and  substitute  G-od's  will, 
which  is  always  in  harmony  with  that  of  a  pious 
parent,  as  the  grand  law  of  obedience.  And  here 
comes  in  the  Sabbath  School  as  a  grand  instru- 
ment to  aid  the  parent  in  giving  the  child's  faith 
this  proper  and  final  direction.  By  teaching  the 
child  at  home,  by  example  and  precept,  the 
foundation  is  laid,  and  then  having  him  taught  at 
Church — in  the  Sabbath  School — the  work  of  com- 


SABBATH  SCHOOL  ADDRESS.         495 

pletely  moulding  and  wielding  his  mind  and 
heart  is  finished.  It  brings  the  seal  and  sanction 
of  the  Church  upon  the  home  teaching.  This 
teaching  of  the  Church  has  upon  it  the  air  of  au- 
thority and  commission,  which  exerts  a  powerful 
influence  upon  the  child.  There  is  concurrence 
of  sentiment  between  the  teacher,  the  representa- 
tive of  the  Church  authority,  and  the  parent, 
brought  to  a  focal  point  upon  the  heart  of  the 
child,  that  seals  forever  the  teaching.  The  ap- 
pointed and  sanctioned  means  of  the  sanctuary 
are  thus  linked  with  paternal  influence,  and  con- 
stitute a  cord  to  bind  and  hold  the  child  in  the 
practice  of  virtue.  The  shekinah  fire  of  G-od's 
spiritual  temple  becomes  blended  with  the  flame 
of  the  home  altar,  and  glows  on  the  heart  to  pu- 
rify, as  well  as  to  throw  its  light  upon  child- 
hood's path.  Under  this  influence  let  the  com- 
mandments of  G-ocl  be  wrapped  up  in  the  heart ; 
let  them  strike  their  roots  through  and  through 
into  the  soul  ;  let  them  constitute  the  fundamen- 
tal principles  of  character,  the  foundation  upon 
which  the  superstructure  is  reared,  and  no  storm 
that  comes,  no  tempests  that  beat,  can  overthrow 
it.  The  principles  of  G-od's  law  permeating  the 
heart  will  generate  "the  fear  of  God,  which  is  the 
beginning  of  wisdom."  The  power  of  the  princi- 
ples generating  in  the  soul  will  root  out  and  de- 
stroy all  converse  principles.     "The  law  of  the 


496  SABBATH  SCHOOL  ADDRESS. 

Lord  is  perfect,  converting  the  soul."  Those 
persons  who  are  found  in  the  sinks  of  vice  and 
haunts  of  dissipation,  in  the  jails  and  penitentia- 
ries of  the  country,  have  never  been  taught  the 
fear  of  God.  They  are  strangers  to  His  law  and 
the  influence  it  inspires.  The  pious  parent,  to 
make  sure  work  of  the  salvation  of  his  child, 
should  bring  to  bear  upon  him  the  influence  of 
the  Church,  and  this  cannot  in  any  way  be  so 
effectually  done  as  through  the  instrumentality  of 
the  Sabbath  School.  The  wicked,  vicious  parent, 
who  has  chosen  the  path  that  leads  to  hell  him- 
self, unless  he  wishes  his  child  to  follow  him  to 
the  bottomless  pit,  should  send  him  to  the  Sab- 
bath School,  that  the  anchorage  of  his  faith  in 
himself,  as  a  wicked  parent,  may  be  prevented. 

The  Sabbath  School  also  has  claims  upon  the 
patriot  of  this  country.  Our  government  is  a 
government  of  sentiment.  Public  opinion  is  the 
law  of  the  land,  constitutions  and  statutes  not- 
withstanding to  the  contrary.  This  truth  has 
but  recently  been  thoroughly  and  indisputably 
illustrated.  Slaveiy  was  provided  for  and  pro- 
tected in  the  Constitution  ;  yet  the  public  senti- 
ment of  a  large  majority  of  the  States  composing 
the  Federal  Union  was  against  it,  and  it  fell  in 
the  face  of  the  Constitution.  It  is  expressly  pro- 
vided in  the  Constitution  that  each  State  shall 
regulate  its  own  domestic  affairs,   yet  the  public 


SABBATH  SCHOOL  ADDRESS.         497 

sentiment  of  a  large  majority  of  the  States  re- 
quires that  Congress  shall  determine  the  qualifi- 
cations of  the  voter  in  certain  States,  upon  do- 
mestic State  measures,  and  the  reconstruction 
measures  are  passed.  It  is  provided  in  the  Con- 
stitution that  no  State  shall  pass  any  law  impair- 
ing the  validity  of  a  private  contract,  yet  the 
sentiment  of  the  country  requires  it,  and  a  retro- 
spective homestead  law  is  enacted.  Now,  I  do 
not  express  any  opinion  here  as  to  the  propriety 
or  the  impropriety  of  these  measures;  whether  it 
is  to  inure  to  the  public  good  or  injury.  It  would 
not  be  proper  for  me  to  do  so  here.  It  would  be 
in  violation  of  the  spirit  and  object  of  this  meet- 
ing. I  recur  to  them  simply  and  only  to  show 
that  the  sentiment  of  the  majority — the  will,  wish, 
opinion  of  the  people,  is  the  law  of  the  land.  The 
will  of  the  people  of  this  country  sets  up  and 
pulls  down  constitutions.  This  principle  is  the 
corner  stone  upon  which  the  Republic  is  founded. 
This  was  the  issue  in  the  Revolutionary  strug- 
gle. The  tax  resisted  was  comparatively  a 
trifle.  One  of  the  sublimest  spectacles  of  genu- 
ine heroism  was  presented  by  that  gallant  band 
of  Revolutionary  patriots  in  their  struggle  for 
this  principle  ;  for  it  they  shivered  and  scorched 
through  seven  long  winters  and  summers. 

At  first,  b}^  agreement,  with  almost  universal 
approval,  restraints  and  limitations   were   placed 

22* 


498         SABBATH  SCHOOL  ADDRESS. 

upon  the  will  of  the  people  ;  qualifications  were 
required  in  order  to  the  exercise  of  the  elective 
franchise.  The  doctrines  of  Mr.  Jefferson  pre- 
vailed, and  these  restraints,  one  after  another, 
have  been  removed,  until  the  popular  will, 
expressed  through  the  ballot  box,  without  re- 
striction as  "to  race,  or  color,  or  previous 
condition,"  is  the  law  of  the  land.  There  are 
some  people  silly  enough  to  think  we  are  in  im- 
mediate clanger  of  a  monarchy  ;  that  Gen.  Grant 
could  easily  proclaim  himself  dictator  and  take 
the  reins  of  government  in  his  own  hands.  We 
are  in  danger  of  directly  the  converse  of  a  mon- 
archy. The  whole  tendency  of  political  influence 
is  in  the  opposite  direction.  Gen.  Grant  owes  his 
present  position  to  the  fact  that  he  put  himself  in 
this  current.  If  he  undertook  to  stem  it,  it  would 
sweep  him  down.  If  he  were  to  proclaim  himself 
dictator,  I  would  not  give  the  smallest  denomina- 
tion of  greenbacks  in  my  pocket  for  his  head,  ex- 
cept to  preserve  it  as  a  memento  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished man  of  the  country.  He  has  studied 
history  to  little  purpose  who  does  not  know  that 
revolutions  do  not  go  backwards,  and  that  revo- 
lutionists do  not  stem  the  popular  current,  but 
throw  themselves  into  it  and  swell  it  until  it 
breaks  over  its  boundaries,  overwhelming  every- 
thing, and  then,  seizing  on  to  some  portion  of  the 
wreck,  float  off  to  some  delectable  island.     Our 


SABBATH  SCHOOL  ADDRESS.         499 

tendency  is  to  anarchy,  confusion.  Thirty  or 
forty  millions  of  souls  governing  themselves,  and, 
I  fear,  without  wisdom  and  virtue  enough  to  guide 
the  ship  of  State  aright.  Here  is  where  the  work 
of  the  Sabbath  School  comes.  Its  work  is  to  blend 
virtue  and  intelligence  rightly,  and  give  tone,  and 
character,  and  the  right  direction,  to  public  opin- 
ion ;  and  the  point  I  wish  to  make  in  this  connec- 
tion is,  that,  taking  it  solely  in  a  political  view,  the 
Sabbath  School  has  a  claim  to  the  encouragement 
and  support  of  eveiy  true  patriot.  If  all  the  chil- 
dren of  to-day  could  be  reared  in  the  Sabbath 
School,  have  the  principles  it  teaches  incorpo- 
rated in  their  education,  as  a  nation  we  would  be 
safe.  Liber  t}7-  asks  no  wall  of  bayonets  for  her 
protection,  no  glittering  array  of  spears  for  her 
escort,  no  flashing  swords  to  guard  her  courts  ; 
but  she  feels  firmly  seated  on  power  when  en- 
throned in  the  hearts  of  a  virtuous,  enlightened, 
Christianized  people. 

Finally,  the  Sabbath  School  has  its  claims  upon 
the  Christian.  The  religious  aspects  of  this  coun- 
try are  of  peculiar  interest.  The  demoralization 
is  marked,  and  necessarily  excites  serious  con- 
cern. This  demoralization,  however,  is  only  tem- 
porary. With  all  the  corruption,  and  fraud,  and 
vice  which  is  manifest,  there  is  underlying  it  a 
substratum  of  old  fashioned,  orthodox  honesty, 
that  is  the  preservative  salt  of  the  country,  and 


500  SABBATH  SCHOOL  ADDRESS. 

that  will,  in  time,  correct  this  state  of  things. 
There  is  an  oncoming  struggle  of  higher  import  to 
the  Christian — one  fraught  with  more  interest  to 
the  destiny  of  the  nation  than  the  one  through 
which  we  have  passed.  The  issue  is  becoming 
more  and  more  apparent  each  year.  It  is  the 
issue  between  the  form  and  power  of  religion — 
between  the  shadow  and  the  substance — between 
the  show  of  the  thing  and  the  thing  itself.  Ro- 
manism— embracing  Ritualism  in  all  its  forms — 
wherever  existing,  represents  and  embodies  the 
former  idea,  and  Protestantism — embracing  all 
advocates  for  the  divine  influence  of  truth,  felt  and 
realized  in  the  soul — represents  the  latter.  The 
former,  intolerant  and  proscriptive,  is  grasping  at 
power  in  this  land.  A  bishop  is  consecrated  for 
North  Carolina.  Schools  of  charity,  without 
money  and  without  price,  are  open  in  the  princi- 
pal towns.  The  Pope  has  in  training  about  three 
hundred  colored  men  for  priests  for  the  Southern 
States.  In  Cincinnati,  in  New  Orleans,  New 
York,  St.  Louis,  and  everywhere  else  where  they 
have  sufficient  strength,  they  are  making  war  on 
the  public  free  schools  of  the  country.  They  are 
trying  to  get  the  instruction  of  the  youth,  as  far  as 
possible,  under  their  own  control.  The  Ritualists 
of  the  High  Church  party,  and  the  Ritualists  of 
all  the  Protestant  denominations  (and  there  are 
such  in  all)  are  in  full  sympathy  with  them,  and 


SABBATH  SCHOOL  ADDRESS.  501 

are  onl}r  abiding  their  time  to  throw  off  the  mask 
and  assume  their  true  and  chosen  position. 

It  is  high  time  for  all  true  Protestants  to  wake 
up  to  the  situation,  realizing  the  true  demand, 
recognizing  the  dangerous  foe.  A  man  or  a  sect 
comes  along,  discarding  the  doctrine  of  Christ's 
divinity.  Another  comes,  self-commissioned,  ob- 
literating all  distinction  between  virtue  and  vice, 
and  extinguishing  the  flames  of  the  bottomless  pit. 
Another,  with  its  own  revelation  from  the  spirit 
land,  correcting  all  old  ideas,  rejecting  even  their 
nomenclature.  These  are  all  fungus  growths, 
that  will  wither  and  die  in  the  pure  atmosphere 
of  truth.  They  lack  brains,  and  prudence,  and 
virtue  to  support  them.  The  great  enemy  of  the 
truth  as  it  is  Jesus,  in  this  country,  is  Romanism. 
Now,  it  is  the  duty  of  true  Protestants,  those  who 
agree  in  all  the  essentials,  to  come  on  terms  of 
perfect  friendship.  They  should  link  their  shields, 
lock  their  hands,  and  stand  shoulder  to  shoulder 
in  this  great  struggle.  There  should  be  no  jars  or 
collisions  here.  It  is  all  right  to  have  different 
denominations  ;  it  is  best.  If  it  were  best  I  would 
be  willing,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned,  to  turn  it  all 
over  into  the  hands  of  the  Presbyterians,  or  the 
Baptists,  or  any  other  Protestant  denomination  ; 
but  the  Sabbath  School  is  the  ground  upon  which 
all  Protestants  should  meet.  It  is  one  of  the 
strongest  links  to  bind  denominations  together. 


502  MASONIC  ORATION". 

The  schools  intermingle  ;  the  prayers  and  the  songs 
of  the  children  rise  up  together  ;  and,  as  Chris- 
tians, we  are  brought  nearer  together  by  the  in- 
nocent intermingling  of  our  offspring.  Then  the 
Sabbath  School  claim  upen  the  Christian  is  the 
highest  claim,  in  the  fact  that  it  involves  the  des- 
tiny of  the  soul.  The  Sabbath  School  work  is  the 
work  of  saving  souls.  Every  young  heart  made 
fit  for  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  every 
soul  led  to  the  Cross,  will  be  a  star  in  the  Chris- 
tian's crown,  and  a  note  to  swell  the  grand  an- 
them of  praise  that  rolls  up  forever  around  the 
throne  of  God. 


\Um\u  ©vatimt 


(DELIVERED  AT  THE  CENTENNIAL  ANNIVERSARY  OP  THE 
GRA.ND  LODGE  OP  NORTH  CAROLINA,  A.  P.  &  A.  MASONS, 
IN  RALEIGH,  N.  C,  JANUARY  14th,  A.  L.  5871,  A.  D.  1871. 
—Eds.) 


Most  Worshipful  Grand  Master  and  Brethren  : 

The  present  is  an  age  of  anniversary  and  jubi- 
lee. The  genius  of  our  people  requires  that  days 
shall  be  set  apart,  be  consecrated  as  commemora- 
tive clays — days  hallowed  by  the  memories  of 
events  that  mark  the  annals  of  the  past,  on  which 
there  shall  be  a  convocation  of  the  masses,  that 
kindred  spirits,  having  a  common  interest  in  these 


MASONIC  ORATION.  503 

events,  may  strike  hands  together  in  fraternal 
reunion  and  reburnish  the  links  of  the  chain 
which  binds  them  together  in  a  common  brother- 
hood.  Such  is  the  present  day,  and  this  the 
object  that  brings  us  together  on  the  present 
occasion.  We  come,  my  brethren,  on  this  cen- 
tennial day  of  our  existence  as  an  Order  in  North 
Carolina,  to  make  note,  by  solemn  public  act,  of 
this  important  fact  in  our  history.  We  come  on 
this  day  to  rekindle  the  fires  upon  our  altars,  to 
revive  our  friendships,  to  bury  our  differences, 
and  as  far  as  we  may,  to  catch  afresh,  over  the 
lapse  of  a  hundred  years,  the  spirit  of  our  fathers, 
the  founders  of  this  mystic  Order  in  our  State. 
I  hail  this  day  !  I  greet  you  !  Let  us  exchange 
mutual  congratulations. 

It  would  not,  perhaps,  be  deemed  inappropriate 
to-day  to  pass  in  review  the  history  of  our  Order. 
I  do  not,  however,  propose  to  do  this,  only  so  far 
as  to  keep  myself  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of 
this  occasion.  The  fact  has  not  escaped  the  obser- 
vation of  any  intelligent  reader,  that  very  little, 
comparatively,  has  been  written  of  Masonry.  All 
that  is  authentically  historic  of  the  Institution 
would  make  up  a  very  small  volume.  This  is  cer- 
tainly not  for  lack  of  age.  It  dates  an  antiquity 
of  origin  that  runs  far  back  into  the  centuries  that 
preceded  the  Christian  era.  It  is  not  because  it 
has  been  confined  to  obscure  and  unimportant  in- 


504  MASONIC  ORATION. 

dividuals,  for  it  lias  in  all  ages  been  patronized 
and  promoted  by  persons  of  the  most  consequence, 
and  of  the  highest  distinction,  of  whom  mention 
is  made  in  history.  It  is  thus  accounted  for.  It 
has  been  a  Grand  Charity.  Its  spirit  has  been 
benevolence — its  deeds,  beneficence- — its  march 
has  been  peaceful,  unobtrusive — going  on  the  prin- 
ciple that  the  left  hand  shall  not  know  what  the 
right  hand  doeth.  Then,  again,  I  think  I  shall 
keep  within  the  limits  of  truth,  in  asserting  that 
two-thirds  of  the  history  of  this  world  is  a  record 
of  blood,  or  of  intrigues  and  diplomacy  that  led 
to  the  effusion  of  blood.  No  wonder,  then,  that 
an  Institution  characterized  as  this  is,  should  find 
so  little  room  on  these  blood-stained  pages.  That 
its  friends  have  not  written  its  history  more  com- 
plete, is  to  be  accounted  for  from  the  fact,  as  all  the 
initiated  know,  that  Masons  are  not  much  given  to 
writing — that  its  essential  features  are  traditional, 
and  if  I  may  be  allowed  to  say  so,  it  has  ever  incul- 
cated a  modesty  which  forbade  going  on  the  house- 
tops to  herald  its  deeds,  or  sounding  a  trumpet 
before  it  on  its  missions  of  love. 

A  mere  glance  at  what  has  been  written,  so  as 
to  come  from  its  origin  down  to  its  introduction 
into  the  province  of  North  Carolina,  under  the 
charter  we  hold,  one  hundred  years  ago,  is  all 
that  I  design  at  present. 

Some   of   the    ardent   admirers   of  Masonry — 


MASONIC  ORATION.  505 

Anderson,  Preston,  and  others— have  claimed  for 
it  an  origin  coeval  with  the  world.  "Others  more 
moderate  find  its  origin  in  the  religious  mysteries 
of  the  ancient  world,  and  particularly  in  a  sup- 
posed branch  of  those  religious  associations  formed 
by  the  Architects  of  Tyre,  who,  under  the  name 
of  the  Dionysiac  Fraternity,  constituted  an  asso- 
ciation of  builders,  exclusively  engaged  in  the 
construction  of  temples  arid  other  prominent  edi- 
fices in  Asia  Minor,  and  who  were  distinguished 
b}^  secret  signs  and  other  modes  of  secret  recog- 
nition.7' 

The  best  Masonic  authorities,  however,  concur 
in  dating  its  origin,  as  an  association,  in  the  erec- 
tion of  Solomon's  Temple.  I  will  not  stop  to  re- 
count the  number  engaged  in  the  erection  of  that 
magnificent  edifice,  nor  the  time  employed,  nor 
indulge  a  description  of  its  beauty  and  splendor. 
After  the  completion  of  the  Temple  great  numbers 
of  these  Masons  travelled  into  different  parts  of 
the  world,  and  engaged  in  the  erection  of  temples 
_and  edifices  of  which  we  have  account  in  history. 

In  the  416th  year  after  the  completion  of  the 
Temple,  Nebuchadnezzar  with  a  powerful  army, 
after  a  long  siege,  entered  Jerusalem,  despoiled 
the  Temple,  stole  the  holy  vessels,  removed  the 
famous  pillars  Jachin  and  Boaz,  robbed  the  city 
and  the  King's  palace,  overthrew  the  walls  and 
carried  away  thousands  of  the  inhabitants  into 


506  MASONIC  ORATION. 

captivity  in  Babylon.  Masonic  tradition  informs 
us  that  the  Masons  amongst  these  captives,  many 
of  whom  were  the  celebrated  Giblemites,  con- 
trived to  hold  their  secret  Lodge  meetings,  and 
taught  their  children  the  mysteries  of  Masonry 
and  the  religion  of  their  fathers. 

They  were  held  in  bondage  fifty  two  years, 
when  they  were  liberated  by  Cyrus,  and  fort}r 
two  thousand  of  them  returned  to  Jerusalem,  with 
shoutings  and  praise.  After  this  the  fraternity 
of  travelling  Masons  passed  into  Greece,  Rome, 
Spain,  and  other  countries,  where  their  services 
were  employed  in  the  erection  of  the  famous  edi- 
fices for  which  the  ancient  world  is  so  justly  cele- 
brated. Through  these  travelling  craftsmen  we 
can  see  how  the  ideas  of  religious  worship,  sacri- 
fice, and  religious  truth,  and  the  historic  facts  of 
the  Old  Testament,  which  are  found  to  exist 
amongst  all  heathens  of  the  present  day  were 
propagated.  They  travelled  everywhere,  and 
everywhere  carried  with  them  these  peculiarities. 

In  the  year  715  before  the  Christian  era,  the 
Roman  Colleges  of  constructors  were  established 
by  Numa  Pompilius;  they  were  composed  of  men 
learned  in  all  the  arts  and  trades  necessary  for 
the  execution  of  civil,  religious,  naval  and  hy- 
draulic architecture,  with  their  own  laws  and 
judges,  laws  based  on  those  of  the  Dionysian 
Artificers,  whose  urvsteries   had   spread  among 


MASONIC  ORATION.  507 

the  principal  people  of  the  East.  These  Colleges 
were  in  existence  in  the  time  of  Julius  Caesar, 
who  gave  protection  to  the  Jewish  architects 
who  were  mystic  Masons,  and  admitted  them  to 
these  colleges,  and  they  imparted  to  them  a 
knowledge  of  the  Hebrew  mysteries.  Vitruvius 
Pollio,  the  celebrated  architect,  mentions  the  bril- 
liant state  of  the  art  in  Rome  at  this  period,  and 
speaks  of  its  doctrines  as  veiled  in  allegories  and 
mysteries. 

In  the  year  290,  A.  D.,  Carausius,  Commander 
of  the  Roman  fleet,  took  possession  of  Britain  and 
declared  himself  Emperor.  To  conciliate  the 
Masonic  fraternities,  then  wielding  an  immense 
influence  in  the  country,  he  restored  their  ancient 
privileges,  of  which  they  had  been  deprived. 
From  that  time  they  were  called  privileged  or 
Free  Masons. 

In  the  year  296  the  City  of  York,  in  which 
many  Lodges  of  Free  Masons  were  established, 
was  made  the  residence  of  Chlorus,  his  successor. 
For  several  centuries  very  little  note  is  taken  of 
the  progress  of  the  Order. 

In  926  Athelstan,  grandson  of  Alfred  the  Great, 
having  caused  his  son  Edwin  to  be  educated 
in  the  art,  appointed  him  Grand  Master  of  Ma- 
sons. Edwin  summoned  all  the  Masons  to  meet 
him  at  York  and  to  bring  all  the  old  manuscripts 
and  records.  There  he  reorganized  the  Order. 
Hence,  the  term  Ancient  York  Masons. 


508  MASONIC  ORATION. 

For  five  or  six  centuries  the  Grand  Lodge  at 
York  exercised  jurisdiction  over  England. 

In  the  reign  of  George  I,  when  the  Institution 
had  to  a  great  extent  declined,  in  order  to  revive 
it,  the  law  requiring  each  member  to  be  skilled 
in  some  branch  of  mechanics  was  abolished.  The 
character  of  Masonry  was  by  this  act  changed 
from  its  operative  to  its  speculative  form,  the 
working  tools  of  the  operative  being  used  em- 
blematically to  teach  moral  lessons.  I  think  no 
intelligent  student  of  history  will  fail  to  detect  a 
decline  in  architecture  from  that  date.  Up  to 
that  time  the  great  and  learned,  princes  and  no- 
blemen,., and  men  most  cultivated  in  science,  in 
order  to  obtain  membership  in  this  mystic  and 
wonderful  body  of  artisans,  were  required  to  be 
practical  operatives,  not  required  to  follow  a 
trade  as  a  business,  but  to  be  sufficiently  skilled 
to  do  so  if  necessary.  This  dignified  labor  and 
exalted  the  laborer.  It  especially  magnified  the 
arts  of  architecture,  and  with  the  patronage  be- 
stowed by  these  distinguished  persons,  architect- 
ure was  carried  to  the  high  pitch  of  perfection  it 
attained  in  the  ages  preceding.  Hence,  those 
splendid  and  magnificent  temples,  gates  and  tri- 
umphal arches,  bridges,  amphitheatres,  aque- 
ducts, obelisks,  monumental  columns,  baths, 
mausoleums  and  sepulchres.  There  is  not  found 
in  the  public  places  of  the  civilization  of  this  day 


MASONIC  ORATION.  509 

anything  scarcely  of  the  kind,  except  the  pre- 
served mementoes  of  past  grandeur,  or  feeble 
imitations  of  it.  No  higher  proof  of  this  declara- 
tion is  needed  than  the  unfinished  and  unsightly 
monument  to  the  memory  of  the  Father  of  his 
country,  begun  at  the  capital  of  our  nation,  the 
vastest  empire  on  the  globe.  If  the  Egyptians, 
or  Greeks,  or  Romans,  had  had  such  a  hero,  a 
monumental  pile  of  stone  and  brass  would 
have  been  reared  that  would  have  bid  de- 
fiance to  the  corroding  touch  of  the  passing  cen- 
turies. 

In  the  year  1738,  a  schism  occurred  in  the 
Order.  Some  dissatisfied  Masons  separated  from 
the  regular  Lodges  and  declared  themselves 
"  Ancient  Masons,"  and  established  a  Grand. 
Lodge.  They  branded  those  they  left  with  the 
title  of  "  Moderns."  These  two  Grand  Lodges 
continued  to  exist,  to  the  great  scandal  of  Ma- 
sons, until  the  year  1813,  when  by  the  united 
efforts  of  the  Duke  of  Sussex,  Grand  Master  of 
the  "Moderns"  and  the  Duke  of  Kent,  Grand 
Master  of  the  "  Ancients,"  the  two  Grand  bodies 
were  united. 

I  have  thus  glanced  at  the  history  of  Masonry, 
tracing  it  into  England  as  far  down  as  the  begin- 
ning of  this  century,  to  prepare  the  way  for  the 
notice  of  its  introduction  into  North  Carolina. 
Just  one  hundred  years  ago  to  day,  Jan.  14th, 


510  MASONIC  ORATION". 

1771,  the  following  Charter  was  issued  by  the 
command  of  the  Grand  Master  of  England  : 

Beaufort,  G.  M. 
(  )      TO  ALL  AND  EVERY  our  Right 

(  j  Worshipful  and  Loving  Brethren.    WE, 

Henry  Somerset,  Duke  of  Beaufort,  Marquis  and 
Earl  of  Worcester,  Earl  of  Glamorgan,  Yiscount 
Grosmont,  Baron  Herbert,  Lord  of  Ragland, 
Chepston  and  Grower,  Baron  Beaufort  of  Caldeeol 
Castle,  Grand  Master  of  the  Most  Ancient  and 
Honorable  Society  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons, 
Greeting  : 

KNOW  YE  THAT  WE,  of  the  great  Trust 
and  Confidence  reposed  in  our  Right  Worshipful 
and  well  beloved  Brother  Joseph  Montfort, 
Esquire,  of  Halifax,  in  the  Province  of  North 
Carolina,  in  AMERICA,  do  hereby  constitute 
and  appoint  him  the  said  JOSEPH  MONT- 
FORT, Provincial  Grand  Master  of  and  for 
AMERICA,  with  full  power  and  Authority  in 
due  form  to  make  Masons  and  Constitute  and 
Regulate  Lodges  as  Occasion  may  Require.  And 
also  to  do  and  execute  all  and  every  such  other 
acts  and  things  appertaining  to  the  said  Office  as 
usually  have  been  and  ought  to  be  done  and  exe- 
cuted by  other  Provincial  Grand  Masters,  he  the 
said  JOSEPH  MONTFORT  taking  special  care 
that  all  and  every,  the  Members  of  every  Lodge 
he    shall   constitute,  have  been  regularly  made 


MASONIC  ORATION.  511 

Masons,  and  that  they  do  observe,  perform  and 
keep  all  and  every  the  Eules,  Orders  and  Regu- 
lations  contained  in  the  Book  of  Constitutions 
(except  such  as  have  been  or  may  be  repealed  at 
any  Quarterly  Communication  or  other  general 
meeting  together),  also  with  all  such  other  Rules, 
Orders,  Regulations  and  Instructions  as  shall 
from  time  to  time  be  transmitted  by  us,  or  by  the 
Honorable  CHARLES  DILLON  our  Deputy,  or 
by  any  of  our  Successors,  Grand  Masters  or  their 
Deputies  for  the  time  being.  And  we  hereby 
will  and  require  you  our  said  Provincial  Grand 
Master  to  cause  four  quarterly  communications  to 
be  held  yearly,  one  whereof  to  be  upon  or  as  near 
the  feast  day  of  Saint  John  the  Baptist  as  con- 
veniently may  be,  and  that  you  promote  on  those 
and  all  other  occasions  whatever  may  be  for  the 
Honor  and  Advantage  of  Masonry,  and  the  Benefit 
of  the  Grand  Charity,  and  that  you  yearly  send 
to  us  or  our  successor  Grand  Master  an  Account 
in  Writing  of  the  proceedings  therein,  and  also 
of  what  Lodges  you  constitute,  and  when  and 
where  held,  with  a  list  of  the  members  thereof, 
and  copies  of  all  such  Rules,  Orders,  Regulations 
as  shall  be  made  for  the  good  Government  of  the 
same,  with  whatever  else  you  shall  do  by  virtue 
of  these  presents.  And  that  you  at  the  same 
time  remit  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  Society  for  the 
time  being  at  London,  three  pounds  three  shil- 


512  MASONIC  ORATION. 

lings  sterling  for  ever}7  Lodge  you  shall  constitute, 
for  the  use  of  the  Grand  Charity  and  other  neces- 
sary purposes. 

Given  at  London,  under  our  hand  and  seal  of 
Masonry,  this  14th  day  of  January,  A.  L.  5771, 
A.  D. 1771. 

By  the  Grand  Master's  Command. 

CHAS.  DILLON  D.  G.  M. 

Witness  : 

JAS.  HESELTINE,  G.  S. 

A  doubt  in  the  minds  of  some  has  arisen  as  to 
the  precise  date  of  the  organization  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  North  Carolina.  It  is  quite  proper  that 
I  should  lay  before  you  on  this  occasion  the  facts. 

The  "Free  Mason's  Monitor,"  republished  in  the 
year  1818,  contains  this  statement :  "  The  Grand 
Lodge  of  North  Carolina  was  first  constituted  by 
virtue  of  a  charter  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Scot- 
land, A.  D.  1771.  It  convened  occasionally  at 
Newbern  and  Eclenton,  at  which  latter  place  the 
records  were  deposited  previous  to'  the  Kevolu- 
tionary  war.  During  the  contest  the  records 
were  destroyed  by  the  British  army  and  the 
meetings  of  the  Grand  Lodge  suspended." 

Mitchell,  in  his  history  of  Masonry,  says  there 
is  no  record  of  this  in  the  proceedings  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland.  He,  however,  states, 
that  in  the  year  1767  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Scot- 
land granted  a   provisional   commission    to    Col. 


MASONIC  ORATION.  513 

John  Young,  who  had  long  acted  as  Deputy 
Grand  Master  over  all  the  Lodges  in  America 
and  the  West  Indies. 

I  think  the  mistake  into  which  the  "  Monitor  " 
has  fallen  results  from  confounding  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Scotland  with  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
England,  or  rather  the  charter  issued  by  order  of 
the  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Eng- 
land. Others,  too,  in  this  way  have  made  the 
same  mistake.  The  only  charter  issued  on  the 
14th  day  of  Jan.,  1771,  is  the  one  by  the  author- 
ity of  the  Grand  Master  of  England.  Doubtless, 
some  Lodges  were  organized  in  North  Carolina 
about  this  time  under  warrant  derived  from  other 
sources  than  this  charter.  The  disputes  which 
arose  between  some  of  them  as  to  priority  of 
number,  after  the  reorganization  in  1787,  indi- 
cate this.  Further,  I  find  in  the  "Cyclopedia  of 
Masonry,"  by  Macoy,  this  statement,  taken  from 
the  records  of  St.  John's  Grand  Lodge  at  Boston, 
Mass.,  Oct.  2d,  1767:  "A  Dispensation  was  made 
out  for  the  Eight  Worshipful  Thomas  Cooper. 
Master  of  Pitt  County  Lodge,  in  North  Carolina, 
constituting  him  Deputy  Grand  Master  of  that 
Province.  And  he  was  commissioned  with 
power  to  congregate  all  the  brethren,  then  resid- 
ing, or  who  should  afterward  reside  in  said  Prov- 
ince, into  one  or  more  Lodges  as  he  should  think 
fit,  and  in  such  place  or  places  within  the  same  as 

23 


514  MASONIC  ORATION. 

should  most  redound  to  the  benefit  of  Masonry." 
The  first  Lodge  established  under  this  authority 
was  at  Crown  Point,  in  Pitt  County.  Some 
Lodges,  no  doubt,  were  also  established  under 
the  warrant  from  Scotland.  But  I  think,  from 
the  best  evidence  we  have  on  this  subject,  most 
of  the  original  Lodges  formed  in  North  Carolina 
were  organized  under  this  English  warrant. 
Robert  Williams,  Grand  Secretary  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  in  1812,  makes  this  statement,  which  in  my 
judgment  settles  the  question.  He  says  :  "I  for- 
tunately received  into  my  possession  the  Great 
Charter  under  the  sign  manual,  sealed  with  the 
seal  and  impressed  with  the  coat  of  arms  of  the 
Duke  of  Beaufort,  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Ancient  York  Masons  in  England,  dated 
at  London,  the  14th  day  of  January,  A.  D.  1771, 
constituting  and  appointing  Joseph  Montfort, 
Esq.,  then  of  Halifax,  N.  C,  Provincial  Grand 
Master  of  America,  authorizing  and  empowering 
the  said  Joseph  Montfort,  as  Provincial  Grand 
Master,  to  make,  constitute  and  regulate  Lodges 
in  his  then  Majesty's  provinces  of  America. 
This  document  is  important  in  the  history  of  Ma- 
sonry in  this  State,  as  it  shows  in  what  manner 
several  of  the  oldest  Lodges  under  our  jurisdic- 
tion obtained  their  authority.  The  Royal  White 
Hart  Lodge,  No.  2,  in  the  town  of  Halifax,  is  one 
deriving  its  original  constitution  from  this  source. 


MASONIC  ORATION.  515 

' '  The  great  charter  was  preserved  among  the 
archives  of  this  Lodge  in  Halifax,  and  is  claimed 
by  them,  from  whom  the  temporary  possession  was 
obtained  by  me,  accompanied  with  a  promise  to 
return  it.  I  have  since  addressed  the  Lodge  re- 
spectfully in  my  official  capacity,  soliciting  this 
instrument  as  proper  to  be  deposited  among  our 
grand  archives,  it  being  the  original  authority  of 
the  craft  in  our  State,  and  the  foundation  of 

THAT  JURISDICTION  WHICH  WE  NOW   EXERCISE.     The 

Lodges  constituted  under  this  charter  in  the  regal 
government  of  this  country  were  mostly  those 
which,  after  the  Revolutionary  war,  assembled 
in  Convention  at  the  town  of  Tarboro',  in  A.  L. 
5787,  and  established  the  authority  of  which  we 
are  now  possessed." 

In  summing  up  these  statements,  the  conclusion 
is  drawn  that  the  Lodges  deriving  authority  from 
this  English  Charter  composed  mostly  the  Con- 
vention that  assembled  in  the  town  of  Tarboro', 
in  1787,  and  reorganized  the  Grand  Lodge, 
whose  regular  communications  had  been  suspended 
during  the  Revolutionary  war.  The  preservation 
of  this  charter,  by  those  who  were  actors  in  that 
Convention,  and  the  testimony  of  Grand  Secre- 
tary Williams,  who  was  a  cotemporary  with  some 
of  those  actors,  is  conclusive  in  my  judgment. 
This  Convention  of  1787  no  doubt  embraced  the 
Lodges  formed  under  the  warrant  from  Scotland, 


516  MASONIC  ORATION. 

and  also  those  deriving  their  authority  from  St. 
John's  Grand  Lodge  at  Boston.  No  matter  from 
what  sources  the  Lodges  composing  this  Conven- 
tion in  1787  derived  their  authority,  this  fact 
stands  by  the  concurrence  of  all  the  authorities, 
that  the  Convention  simply  reorganized  the 
Grand  Lodge. 

A  Constitution  and  By-laws  were  adopted  and 
the  following  officers  of  the  Grand  Lodge  elected  : 

Samuel  Johnson,  Grand  Master. 

Bichard  Caswell,  Deputy  Grand  Master. 

Bichard  Ellis,  Senior  Grand  Warden. 

Michal  Bayne,  Junior  Grand  Warden. 

Abner  Neale,  Grand  Treasurer. 

James  Glasgow,  Grand  Secretary. 

The  first  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge, 
after  its  reorganization,  was  held  in  Hillsboro', 
July  23,  1788.  The  Convention  of  the  State  was 
then  in  session  in  that  town,  deliberating  on  the 
acceptance  or  rejection  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States.  North  Carolina  was  then  an  inde- 
pendent sovereignty — a  nation  herself.  Many  of 
the  members  of  this  Convention  were  members  of 
the  Grand  Lodge. 

In  1789  a  communication  was  held  in  Fayette- 
ville.  The  Legislature  held  its  session  there  at 
the  same  time,  and  also  the  Convention  of  the 
State,  which  had  not  up  to  that  time  adopted  the 


MASONIC  ORATION".  517 

Constitution  of  the  United  States.     It  did,  how- 
ever, do  so  at  that  sitting. 

Amongst  the  names  of  those  enrolled  as  first 
connected  with  Masonry  in  this  reorganization, 
these  are  found  on  the  records  :  Samuel  Johnson, 
Richard  Caswell,  Alexander  Martin,  W.  R.  Davie, 
and  Montfort  Stokes — all  of  them  Governors  of 
the  State.  Also,  the  names  of  Stephen  Cabarrus, 
Alexander  Caldwell,  Wm.  Duffey,  George  L.  Da- 
vidson, Win.  Polk,  John  Louis  Taylor,  and  quite 
a  catalogue  of  other  distinguished  and  illustrious 
names. 

Thus  it  is  seen  that  the  seeds  of  Masonic  truth 
were  sown  in  North  Carolina  cotemporaneously 
with  the  sowing  the  seeds  of  American  freedom. 
Those  who  know  anything  of  the  history  of  North 
Carolina  and  the  character  of  the  men  and  their 
deeds,  whose  names  I  have  just  recited,  will  see 
that  the  men  who  struck  the  first  blow  for  civil 
and  religious  freedom  on  this  continent — the  men 
who  passed  through  the  "times  that  tried  men's 
souls"— the  men  who,  standing  up  in  the  face  of 
the  whole  world  against  the  most  appalling  odds, 
appealing  to  heaven  to  defend  the  right,  declared 
themselves  freemen  by  the  inheritance  from  God 
and  nature  of  the  inalienable  right  to  be  so — the 
men  who  constituted  the  government  of  the  State 
and  then  stood  at  the  helm  of  the  ship  which  they 
had  launched — the  men  who  adorned  the  bar,  the 


518  MASONIC  ORATION. 

bench,  the  forum — the  men  whose  names,  if  they 
do  not  get  into  the  histories  written  by  strangers, 
get  at  least  into  their  geographies,  by  being 
stamped  by  appreciative  descendants  on  the 
counties  and  towns  of  the  State,  to  be  thus  ren- 
dered imperishable — were  the  men  who  laid  the 
foundation  and  built  the  superstructure  of  Ma- 
sonry in  North  Carolina.  We,  to-day,  after  the 
lapse  of  these  long  years,  with  feelings  of  reve- 
rence for  their  memories,  and  pride  in  their  noble 
deeds,  take  occasion,  in  our  Masonic  character, 
to  make  mention  of  their  heroic  virtues,  and  her- 
ald to  the  world  the  fame  to  which  they  are  so 
eminently  entitled.  It  falls  not  on  their  ear,  for 
through  many  a  long  winter  and  hot  summer  they 
have  "slept  that  sleep  that  knows  no  awaking," 
but  it  will  serve  in  some  measure  to  rescue  from 
the  threatened  oblivion  these  bright  examples  of 
heroism,  and  virtue,  and  charity,  and  cause  them 
to  live  again  before  our  eyes,  and  those  who  are 
to  come  after  us,  as  ensamples  worthy  of  all  imi- 
tation. 

So  much  for  the  history  of  Masonry  in  its  intro- 
duction and  early  propagation  in  North  Carolina. 
It  would  be  of  great  interest,  to  every  Mason  at 
least,  to  review  the  progress  of  the  institution, 
which  has  been  parallel  with  the  development 
and  growth  of  the  country.  This,  however,  more 
properly  belongs  to  history  than  to  an  oration. 


MASONIC  ORATION.  519 

I  propose  to  occupy  the  remainder  of  the  time 
allotted  to  me  on  this  occasion  in  speaking  of  the 
true  mission  of  Masonry  in  its  present  speculative 
form. 

First,  then,  its  mission  is  the  relief  of  want  and 
woe.  Suffering  and  sorrow  are  entailed  upon  our 
race.  Misery  and  want  have  been  transmitted  un- 
impaired from  generation  to  generation.  Amidst 
all  the  manifestations  of  corruption  engendered 
by  the  sin  of  our  federal  head,  humanity,  touched 
by  the  spirit  of  G-od,  displays  some  traits  that 
commend  it  even  in  the  eye  of  angels.  There  is 
a  cord  of  sympathy,  unbroken  by  sin,  which  binds 
the  human  family  together.  Humanity  feels  the 
pang  of  all  her  children's  woes,  and  weeps  when 
her  children  are  burdened  with  sorrow.  A  com- 
mon sympathy  impels  us  to  provide  redress  and 
remedy  for  ills  that  are  a  common  heritage. 

Out  of  this  sympathy  spring  all  efforts  to 
ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  suffering — benevo- 
lent societies  of  all  kinds,  asylums,  mutual  life 
and  fire  insurance  companies — looking  to  the  aid 
of  the  unfortunate  and  needy,  by  admitting  them 
to  share  with  those  who  have  plenty  and  to  spare. 
Masonry  is  the  highest  type  and  purest  form  that 
this  sympathy  assumes,  because  it  is  based  upon 
the  broad  principle  of  Charity.  Not  benevolence 
nor  beneficence  simply,  but  a  step  farther,  a 
degree  higher — :Chamty.     Odd  Fellowship  and 


520  MASONIC  ORATION. 

similar  institutions,  off-shoots  of  Masonry,  are 
benevolent  institutions — are  constructed  on  the 
mutual  aid  principle.  A  common  fund  is  raised 
by  contribution  or  taxation.  From  this  fund  the 
unfortunate  one  of  the  association  draws  under 
rules  and  restrictions  as  a  eight.  Masonry  com- 
mits its  all  into  the  common  fund,  and  has  no  rule 
in  aiding  but  the  broad,  grand  law  of  Charity. 
It  promises  to  help,  aid  and  assist  all  Masons  and 
their  families,  the  world  over,  and  to  the  utmost 
limit  required,  that  does  not  injure  ourself  or 
family.  Here  is  high  ground  for  the  philanthro- 
pist !  Too  high  for  hunianitjr,  it  is  borrowed 
from  Divinity.  Acting  upon  this  high  principle, 
she  keeps  an  eye  upon  her  suffering  children  and 
goes  without  ostentation  to  their  relief.  Many  a 
billet  of  wood  has  been  laid,  by  her  hand,  on  the 
hearth-stone  of  want,  unseen  by  those  who  were 
warmed  and  cheered.  Many  a  time  the  decrease 
in  the  widow's  tub  of  meal  has  been  almost  as 
mysteriously  supplied  by  her  as  when  done  by 
miraculous  power.  Many  a  time  the  tear  has 
been  brushed  from  the  sobbing  cheek  of  sorrow, 
when  God  and  the  holy  Angels  only  took  note  of 
it  for  future  reward.  And  this,  too,  "  the  world 
over!"  This  great  lesson  by  some  mysterious 
process  seems  to  have  been  taught  in  every  clime 
and  in  every  tribe.  Put  me  clown  in  destitution 
and  affliction  amidst  the  wildest  savages  in  the 


MASONIC  ORATION".  521 

deserts  of  Arabia,  or  hot  sands  of  Africa,  or  even 
the  cold,  bleak  regions  of  the  Arctic,  or  islands 
of  the  sea,  or  the  frontier  of  our  own  country, 
and  though  I  may  not  be  able  to  comprehend  one 
vernacular  word  uttered  by  them,  nor  they  any 
word  of  the  Anglo  Saxon,  yet  give  me  the  eye  of 
a  Mason  among  them,  and  I  have  a  dialect  in  the 
grand  hailing  sign,  which  like  the  rod  of  Israel's 
leader,  that  smote  the  rock,  will  bring  from  his 
savage  heart  the  gushing  waters  of  Charity.  Tis 
strange  this  man  has  been  taught  in  one  school 
where  I  have  learned  and  where  you  have  learned. 
It  is  a  pleasing  and  curious  fact  that  we  have  a 
dialect  peculiar  to  the  language  of  all  nations  and 
tribes  through  which  the  tale  of  human  woe  and 
want  finds  intelligible  utterance — an  idiom  en- 
grafted upon  all  languages,  not  by  grammatical 
rule,  but  by  the  law  of  Charity. 

Again,  it  is  the  mission  of  Masonry  to  promote 
conservatism  in  the  world.  Not  political  party 
conservatism.  Masonry  keeps  aloof  from  party 
politics — meddles  not  with  governmental  affairs. 
The  history  of  the  world  does  not  furnish  us  a 
single  instance  in  which  Masonry  ever  struck  at 
any  government,  or  party,  or  sect.  Masons  as 
citizens  may  have  done  so,  but  it  has  never  been 
done  in  the  name  of  and  by  the  authority  of 
Masonry.  I  mean  this  by  the  promotion  of  con- 
servatism :  There  are  to  be  found  in  every  age 

23* 


522  MASONIC  ORATION. 

and  amongst  all  classes,  persons  who  are  what  we 
term  one  ideacl  men.  One  idea  embraced  and  fol- 
lowed in  the  neglect  or  rejection  of  all  other  ideas 
leads  to  extremes,  and  extremists  become  ultraists, 
and  nltraists  become  intolerant,  and  intolerance 
leads  to  collision,  and  collision  is  revolution, 
and  such  revolution  ends  most  generally  in 
anarchy  and  confusion.  On  the  other  hand, 
there  is  to  be  found  always  another  class 
called  latitudinarians,  who  believe  in  all  ideas, 
promote  all,  patronize  all,  without  regard  to 
truth  or  error.  It  is  plain  to  see  that  this 
leads  to  the  same  result  in  the  end,  though 
by  a  different  and  opposite  mode.  Then  there  is 
another  class  both  in  Church  and  State,  and  in  the 
departments  of  science,  who  endeavor  to  avoid 
both  extremes  by  keeping  on  the  middle  ground, 
acting  on  the  principle  of  proving  all  things  and 
holding  fast  that  which  is  good.  These  are  con- 
servative men,  wherever  found,  and  are  promo- 
ters of  peace  and  discoverers  of  truth. 

It  is  too  commonly  the  practice  in  this  age  for 
men  to  make  up  their  minds  first  on  questions  to 
be  considered  and  discussed,  and  then  hunt  up 
evidence  to  fortify  them  in  their  conclusion. 
Much  of  the  ■  investigation  of  principles  in  search 
of  truth  goes  on  this  mode.  It  is  also  found  that 
men  of  this  class  have  in  them  the  spirit  to  look 
upon  all  men  and  evidence  opposed  to  their  pre- 


MASONIC  ORATION.  523 

conceived  opinions  as  enemies  necessarily.  In 
addition,  these  men  are  great  sticklers  for  terms, 
one  employing  a  term  in  one  sense,  and  another 
employing  the  same  term  in  another  sense.  Nine- 
tenths  of  the  bitterness  and  error  of  the  world 
result  from  the  ultraism  of  these  extreme  bigots, 
who  are  always  impatient  with,  and  intolerant  of, 
each  other.  There  are  thousands  of  men  in  poli- 
tics, in  religion,  in  science,  who  have  each  other 
by  the  ears  and  are  feeling  logically  for  the  fifth 
rib,  that  would  be  entirely  agreed  if  they  could 
understand  one  another.  Blinded  by  partisan 
prejudice,  they  are  fighting  for  the  formula  of  the 
idea,  rather  than  the  idea  itself.  If  they  would 
just  take  a  little  breath  and  talk  matters  over 
calmly,  and  with  a  view  to  know  really  what  was 
meant,  they  would  in  the  shortest  possible  time 
abandon  their  quarrel  and  agree  on  truth. 

Masonry  in  her  conservative  spirit,  in  the  dis- 
charge of  her  high  mission,  lays  her  hand  upon 
these  combatants  and  cries,  "hold!  you  are 
brethren.  Leave  all  your  strifes  and  disputes 
outside  the  door  and  come  forward  around  my 
altars  and  I  will  make  you  acquainted  with  each 
other.  Come  here  in  the  spirit  of  amity  and  fra- 
ternity and  look  each  other  in  the  face,  and  take 
each  other  by  the  hand,  and  bow  together  before 
one  common  Lord,  and  you  will  soon  learn  that 
each   is   not   such   a   monster   as  the   other   re- 


524  MASONIC  ORATION. 

garclecl  him."  It  then  takes  the  hand  of  the  re- 
publican and  lays  it  in  the  hand  of  the  democrat, 
places  the  Armenian  beside  the  Calvinist,  the 
immersionist  along  with  the  Apostolic  secession- 
ist, the  Jew  with  the  Greek — and  as  they  go 
forth  in  the  march  of  life,  with  their  loins  girt 
about  with  the  lamb  skin,  all  who  see  them  are 
constrained  to  say — "Behold  how  good  and  how 
pleasant  it  is  for  brethren  to  dwell  together  in 
unity."  When  disputants  are  thus  held  in  con- 
cord and  forbearance,  truth  has  an  easy  triumph. 
The  conservatism  of  Masonry  was  signally 
illustrated  in  the  progress  and  termination  of  our 
late  national  struggle.  When  the  tides  of  pas- 
sion ran  high  on  both  sides,  when  sectional  hate 
flamed  in  the  heart  of  all  classes,  when  the  feet 
of  nearly  every  man  were  swift  to  shed  blood, 
when  reproaches  and  bitter  curses  were  breathed 
forth  on  every  hand,  when  the  black  cloud  of  war 
hung  in  dark  folds  over  the  whole  land,  with  no 
ray  of  light  traceable  on  it — there  was  a  bright 
form  seen  amidst  the  bloody  scenes — it  seemed  to 
be  the  form  of  an  angel  of  mercy.  It  lifted  its 
voice  of  pity  and  commiseration  amidst  the  wails 
of  the  wounded  and  dying.  It  stood  all  night 
long  by  the  hospital  bunk.  It  took  the  riddled 
forms  of  brothers  and  laid  them  in  their  rude 
coffins  in  their  last  sleep.  It  wrote  home  the  sad 
message.     It   knew  no  political   distinction.     It 


MASONIC  ORATION.  525 

had  written  for  a  motto,  no  North,  no  South,  but 
in  modest  capitals  on  the  folds  of  its  hand-flag 
were  seen  the  words — "  Brotherly  Love,  Relief 
and  Truth."  And  when  the  last  gun  was  fired — 
when  the  brave  and  heroic  soldiery  flung  down 
their  arms  and  sought  their  homes,  the  first  hand 
stretched  out  from  the  North  to  the  South  in  her 
despondency  and  gloom — in  the  sackcloth  and 
ashes  in  which  she  had  clothed  herself,  was  the 
hand  that  gives  the  grip  whereby  one  Mason 
knows  another  in  the  darkness  of  national  defeat 
as  well  as  in  the  light  of  national  triumph.  The 
first  document  published  in  the  North  proposing 
amity  and  reconciliation  on  the  basis  of  magna- 
nimity and  equality,  emanated  from  a  Grand 
Lodge  of  Masons.  The  first  aid  voted  to  the 
South  in  her  destitution  was  voted  by  a  Northern 
Grand  Lodge.  Masons  North  said  to  us  :  "  We 
are  brethren,  let  us  be  friends.  We  are  all  frail 
mortals,  erring — let  us  forget  the  past  and  take 
care  for  the  future."  It  struck  the  heart  of  the 
South  as  the  first  note  of  reunion — it  was  the 
first  bow  of  hope  that  arched  the  retiring  cloud. 
As  little  as  the  outside  world  may  think  of  it,  or 
regard  it,  one  of  the  greatest  conserving  influ- 
ences of  this  country  at  the  present  time  is  to  be 
found  in  the  conservatism  of  the  400,000  intelli- 
gent Free  Masons  distributed  from  Maine  to  Cal- 
ifornia. 


526  MASONIC  ORATION. 

Again,  its  mission  is  the  promotion  of  morality. 
It  does  not  aspire  to  the  office  of  Christianity.  It 
provides  no  atonement,  consequently  it  cannot 
change  the  heart.  It  says  to  bad  men,  "  I  can  do 
you  no  good,  whilst  you  can  do  me  much  harm. 
G-o  first  to  the  Cross,  and  then  come  by  this  way." 
Its  mission  is  confined  to  this  world  and  the  pres- 
ent state.  It  labors  to  elevate  man  here,  to  im- 
prove his  condition,  and  minister  to  his  happi- 
ness here.  It  labors  to  smooth  the  rough  pas- 
sages in  the  journey  of  life — to  pluck  up  the  thorns 
that  grow  in  his  path  and  plant  beautiful  flowers 
in  the  stead  thereof — to  break  and  dissipate  the 
clouds  that  gather  about  his  head,  shrouding  his 
prospects  with  their  shadows.  It  strives  to  beau- 
tify and  adorn  his  home  with  all  the  domestic  vir- 
tues, to  kindle  upon  his  hearthstone  the  fires  of 
cheerfulness  and  hope.  It  teaches  him  the  les- 
sons of  sobriety  and  industry,  of  integrity  and 
courage.  When  prosperity  is  turned  upon  him, 
it  teaches  him  to  restrain  his  pride  and  self-suffi- 
ciency ;  when  adversity  is  his  lot,  it  teaches  him 
the  lesson  of  patience  and  hope. 

Christianity  does  all  this  and  more.  It  teaches 
him  to  prepare,  for  a  higher  life,  a  future  state,  a 
brighter  world.  When  his  final  hour  has  come, 
Masonry  wipes  the  death  sweat  from  his  face, 
closes  his  glazed  eye  with  a  fraternal  finger,  and, 
taking  him  in  the  arms  of  affection,  lays  him  down 


MASONIC  ORATION.  527 

gently  in  his  bed  of  earth,  raises  a  mound, 
smoothes  it  down  with  the  spade  of  the  sexton, 
plants  a  little  flower  to  keep  vigil  at  the  sacred 
spot,  and  then  hurries  back  to  look  after  the  widow 
and  the  orphan.  It  can  go  no  farther — its  mis- 
sion ends  with  him  here. 

Christianity  does  all  that  and  more.  Where 
Masonry  lays  him  down  Christianity  takes  him 
up.  Christianity  meets  him  in  the  tomb,  lights 
up  the  halls  of  death  and  converts  the  otherwise 
dark  and  cheerless  grave  into  a  brilliant  saloon. 
Tells  him  that  the  sepulchre  is  but  his  resting 
place — his  inn  for  the  night,  on  the  great  journey. 
That  he  simply  stops  here  to  change  his  dress  of 
flesh — that  this  is  the  robing  room  for  the  celes- 
tial palace,  where  mortals  adjust  their  toilet  for 
the  grand  reception  at  the  "  great  supper."  Well 
may  we  imagine  the  high  pleasure,  aye,  joy,  when 
Christianity,  the  usher,  takes  her  golden  key  and 
unlocks  the  farther  door  that  opens  on  the  vast 
unknown.  Fresh  tides  of  light  come  streaming 
from  the  upper  sanctuary.  She  leads  him  over 
the  bridge  that  spans  the  river  of  death  with 
golden  arch  and  silver  rail,  conducts  him  on  and 
points  him  upward,  and  leaves  him  not  till  she 
leaves  him  throned  and  sceptred  with  harp  and 
palm.     This  is  the  end  of  her  mission. 

Christianity  is  the  queen  with  sparkling  coronet 
lighting  up  this  dark  world  with  radiant  smile. 


528  MASONIC  ORATION. 

Masonry  is  her  maid  of  honor,  serving  in  the 
outer  court  distributing  her  benefits.  Or  to  change 
the  figure — Christianity  is  the  Temple  with  its 
turrets  and  towers,  its  dome  and  arch.  As  it 
rises  in  its  beautiful  proportions,  attracting  the 
gaze  and  admiration  of  mankind  by  its  beauty  and 
symmetry,  it  affords  shelter  and  sustenance  to  all 
who  enter  its  courts  and  seek  its  altars.  Masonry 
is  the  scaffolding  used  by  the  builders,  to  be  taken 
down  and  removed  when  the  building  is  comple- 
ted. It  is  the  outer  porch,  the  steps  that  lead  up 
to  her  sanctuaries.  All  that  Masonry  asks  is  to 
be  permitted,  without  pretended  merit,  to  hold  up 
the  hands  that  shall  raise  and  bear  to  its  place  the 
capstone,  and  subordinate^  mingle  her  voice  in 
the  shout  of  rejoicing  over  the  completion  of  this 
grand  spiritual  edifice. 

Thus  much  for  the  mission  of  Masonry.  If  we 
shall  execute  it,  my  brethren,  with  faithfulness, 
and  shall  so  teach  our  children,  when  we  shall 
have  passed  away  they  will  do  for  us  what  we 
are  attempting  to-day  for  those  who  have  pre- 
ceded us  in  the  silent  years  that  lie  entombed  in 
the  past. 

In  concluding  the  reflections  of  this  hour,  it 
may  not  be  amiss  for  one  moment  to  run  back  in 
thought  one  hundred  years — walk  around  the 
base  of  this  noble  fabric  of  ours — view  its  founda- 
tion stones  laid  in  the  wilds  of  a  new  and  opening 


MASONIC  ORATION.  529 

empire — dwell  for  a  time  amidst  the  scenes  of 
struggling  hope  and  heroic  resolve,  take  com- 
panionship for  a  season  with  the  highest  types  of 
manhood,  rock  for  a  moment  in  the  throes  of  a 
revolution  that  gave  birth  to  an  empire  of  reli- 
gious freedom,  of  science,  and  charity,  and  thus 
catch  a  glow  of  inspiration  that  shall  nerve  our 
courage,  sanctify  our  ambition,  fire  our  patriot- 
ism, and  expand  our  charity,  so  that  we  may  be 
the  better  fitted  for  the  responsible  duties  of  the 
ordeal  through  which  we  have  been  passing,  and 
from  which,  I  trust  in  God's  name,  we  are  now 
emerging — that  in  the  various  departments  of  life 
in  which  our  hands  are  finding  work  to  do,  we 
may  be  assisted  by  this  day's  duty  and  privilege 
to  transmit  to  those  who  are  to  live  a  hundred 
years  hence,  with  an  increase  in  the  legacy,  the 
blessed  inheritance  bequeathed  us  by  our  buried 
but  still  remembered  and  revered  centennial  an- 
cestors. 


APPENDIX. 


SKETCH   BY    REV.  DR.  DEEMS. 

[The  following  Sketch  did  not  come  to  hand  until  much  of  the  book  was  in 
type,  thus  losing  its  place  in  the  Biography.  At  the  earnest  desire  of  Rev. 
Mr.  Lewis  it  is  put  in  an  Appendix  to  this  edition. — Publishers.] 


Rev.  John  W.  Lewis. 

Rev.  and  Dear  Sir:  Although  my  intercourse 
with  Dr.  Reid  was  not  intimate,  I  had  sufficient 
opportunity  to  form  an  estimate  of  his  character, 
and  willingly  comply  with  your  request  to  write  a 
few  lines  of  recollections. 

When  I  first  saw  "  Fletcher  Reid  " — as  he  was 
usually  called  in  the  North  Carolina  Conference, 
more  through  affectionate  regard  than  undue 
familiarity — he  was  very  slight  in  his  physique, 
and  looked  so  frail  that  I  feared  he  would  not  be 
continued  many  years  in  the  work  of  the  Christian 
ministry.  Afterwards  there  was  discovered  a 
wiry  fibre  in  his  constitution,  which,  with  his  great 
will-force,  enabled  him  to  survive  much  labor. 
The  itinerant  ministry  gave  him  frequent  changes, 
and  these  assisted  in  prolonging  his  life. 

He  entered  the  Conference  with  many  advan- 
tages. His  father  was  one  of  the  oldest  members, 
and  was  a  Presiding  Elder,  and  generally  popular 


532  APPENDIX. 

with  the  laymen  of  the  Church  throughout  North 
Carolina  and  many  portions  of  Virginia.  His  uncle, 
yourself,  sir,  had  been  for  many  years  a  trusted 
member  of  the  Conference.  Fletcher  Eeid  had 
had  educational  advantages  in  advance  of  a  great 
majority  of  the  members  of  the  Conference.  He 
had  a  pleasing,  gentlemanly,  scholarly  appearance 
and  manner,  that  were  winning.  He  was,  there- 
fore, warmly  received,  and  taken  to  a  place  in  the 
heart  of  the  Conference,  which  I  think  he  never 
lost. 

His  father,  the  late  Rev.  James  Reid,  was  an 
old  man  when  I  first  entered  the  ministry  in 
North  Carolina.  He  had  always  shown  me  great 
regard,  and  my  feelings  toward  him  were  really 
warm  and  kind.  He  had  his  peculiarities,  so  well 
and  universally  known,  that  no  impropriety  can 
be  in  alluding  to  them.  He  was  very  politic 
in  a  most  innocent  way.  He  never  sought  to 
hurt,  but  always  preferred  to  surround  all  his 
operations  with  a  cloud  of  diplomacy,  which  was 
very  transparent  to  all  outside,  and  exhibited  his 
genuine  kind-heartedness,  and  sometimes  really 
assisted  his  native  shrewdness  without  ever  creat- 
ing doubts  of  his  goodness. 

It  was  at  the  Salisbury  Conference,  1851,  that 
Fletcher  was  admitted.  At  the  General  Confer- 
ence of  the  Church  in  May,  1850,  the  North  Caro- 
lina Conference  had  applied  for  and  obtained  an 


APPENDIX.  533 

extension  of  territory,  which  was  made  by  cur- 
tailing the  bounds  of  the  South  Carolina  Confer- 
ence, at  which  the  brethren  in  South  Carolina 
were  naturally  greatly  moved ;  and  up  to  the 
time  of  the  Salisbury  session  they  were  making 
movements  which,  if  consummated,  might  deprive 
the  North  Carolina  Conference  of  all  good  of  its 
recent  gain.  Bishop  Andrew  was  presiding.  He 
had  formerly  been  a  member  of  the  South  Carolina 
Conference,  and  had  naturally  leaned  against 
North  Carolina  in  the  boundary  discussion.  He 
was  feared,  and  measures  were  taken  to  keep  him 
from  embarrassing  the  North  Carolina  Conference. 
A  meeting  was  held  in  a  hall  connected  with  the 
hotel.  When  I  entered  the  room  was  well  filled, 
and  a  chair  given  me  near  the  door.  "  Uncle 
Reid,"  as  Fletcher's  father  was  affectionately 
called  by  the  ministers,  had  just  taken  the  floor. 
He  was  describing  the  situation  in  such  language 
as  seemed  most  frank,  but  which  was  such  as 
left  the  hearer  in  profound  doubt  as  to  how  Uncle 
Reid  regarded  it.  He  closed  by  saying,  "Mr. 
Chairman,  I'll  tell  you  just  what  kind  of  resolu- 
lution  I  want  passed."  Now,  thought  I,  we  shall 
know  which  side  he  is  on.  He  made  an  impres- 
sive rhetorical  pause,  and  looking  around  the 
room,  he  brought  his  eyes  back  to  the  Chairman, 
and  waving  his  index  finger,  he  said  slowly,  "I 
want  a  resolution  that  shall  be  clear,  forcible,  and 
to  the  point,  but  perfectly  non-committal  /" 


534  APPENDIX. 

This  characteristic  stroke  was  too  much  for  me, 
and,  in  common  with  all  present,  I  laughed  oat- 
right.  At  that  moment  I  caught  the  eye  of 
Fletcher.  He  had  colored  a  little  while  smiling, 
but  I  thought  his  eye  had  fallen  specially  on  me. 
It  made  me  very  unhappy.  I  could  not  bear  for 
a  moment  that  he  should  suppose  that  I  could 
treat  his  father  with  the  slightest  disrespect,  and 
yet  an  explanation  would  be  awkward. 

This  continued  to  embarrass  me  in  my  inter- 
course with  Fletcher.  It  was  a  little  thing,  but 
hurt  like  a  mote  in  the  eye.  The  relief  was  af- 
forded by  him,  for  which  I  always  felt  very  grate- 
ful. It  came  in  this  way.  Several  years  after 
the  occurrence  Fletcher  and  I  were  on  a  Com- 
mittee, and  he  insisted  that  I  should  write  the 
report.  When  we  met  to  prepare  the  matter,  I 
asked  him  to  give  me  his  views  of  the  form  our 
recommendation  to  the  Conference  should  take. 
He  looked  at  me  quizzically.  A  kind  and  mis- 
chievous light  played  over  his  face.  He  drew 
himself  up,  and  commencing  to  wave  his  index 
finger,  said,  "  I'll  tell  you  the  kind  of  resolution 
to  write  :  I  want  a  resolution  that  shall  be  clear, 
forcible,  and  to  the  point,  but  perfectly  non- 
committal ! "  and  broke  into  a  roar  of  laughter. 
I  caught  his  hand,  joining  heartily  in  the  hilarity, 
and  said,  "Fletcher,  you  can't  tell  how  much 
that  joke  has  relieved  me."    "I  thought  so,"  he 


APPENDIX.  535 

replied,  "and  I  have  long  desired  to  show  you 
that  I  took  no  offence  at  what  occurred  at  Salis- 
bury, although  I  could  see  you  thought  I  did." 

This  simple  story  is  told  here  at  the  request  of 
one  of  Dr.  Reid's  most  loving  friends,  who  be- 
lieves, with  me,  that  it  sets  the  man  in  a  very 
beautiful  light.  From  that  time,  so  far  as  I 
know,  our  mutual  regard  was  never  broken.  We 
greatly  differed  on  many  questions,  but  usually  it 
was  more  as  to  the  methods  of  carrying  forward 
the  Church,  and  in  our  estimate  of  certain  men, 
than  in  anything  else.  He  was  devoted  and 
faithful  to  the  Church.  His  attendance  upon  the 
General  Conference  of  1870  changed  his  views  of 
some  things  and  some  men,  and  it  is  pleasant  to 
record,  that  in  our  parting  interview,  not  long 
before  he  died,  there  was  a  delightful  Christian 
cordiality.  When  he  left  me  I  felt  that  if  his  life 
were  spared  he  would  come  into  a  position  in 
which  he  could  be  still  more  useful  to  the  Church 
of  God. 

His  chief  characteristic  was  a  powerful  per- 
sonal magnetism.  He  would  have  made  a  most 
able  and  successful  politician.  Even  when  he 
was  mistaken,  and  his  rhetoric  was  broken  and 
his  logic  faulty,  he  could  carry  men  to  his  side, 
simply  because  he  was  on  that  side.  He  inherited 
from  his  father  a  pathos  which  was  very  moving. 
I  have  often  said  that  "Uncle  Reid  "  could  stir 


536  APPENDIX. 

me  to  tears  by  reading  columns  of  Webster's  Dic- 
tionary. But  Fletcher  had  acuteness,  much  taste, 
prudence,  and  warm-heartedness,  aud  some  schol- 
arship. He  was  a  man  to  be  loved,  and  he  was 
loved.  As  it  deserves  to  be,  long  will  his  name 
be  cherished  in  North  Carolina. 

I  have  not  read  any  of  the  manuscripts  of  this 
volume.  Printed  sermons  usually  fail  to  convey 
a  fair  idea  of  the  preacher.  Dr.  Reid?s  extraor- 
dinarily expressive  eye  and  sensitive  mouth,  his 
pauses,  his  gestures,  his  flashes — these  cannot 
be  reproduced  in  print,  but  this  volume  will  hand 
down  to  the  children  of  his  personal  friends  a 
memorial  of  one  of  the  most  gifted,  most  loved, 
and  most  mourned  of  the  departed  sons  of  North 
Carolina. 

Regretting  that  the  pressure  of  my  engage- 
ments has  postponed  this  sketch  so  long,  and 
trusting  that  the  volume  contains  such  matter  as 
that  by  it  our  friend,  being  dead,  ma}r  yet  speak, 
I  am, 

Faithfully  your  brother, 

CHARLES  F.  DEEMS. 

Church  of  the  Strangers,  New  Tore:, 
21th   October,  1874. 


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Date  Due 


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MARn7 

&CT  o  o 

DuC  1  <5 

APR  2  6 

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Duke  University  Libraries 


D008659881 


DIV.S.      922.773      R357L     c.2 


5S4027 


